Getting to the Altar
by RandomGnome
Summary: After a bit of travelling - because she promised - Alice and Robin have settled down in Storybrooke. Regina has brought together all the Realms of Story and people are settling in. Robin has one more promise to make good on - the one she made to Hook about walking his daughter down the aisle.
1. Chapter 1

_**Disclaimer**_ : I do not own Once Upon a Time or any of the characters. I'm new to this particular fandom – CuriousArcher, MadArcher, whatever you want to call it. I mean, how hard was it to not love Robin and Alice? They're totally adorable! Thanks, OUaT!

Getting to the Altar

By RandomGnome

 **The Proposal**

" _Alice and Robin, it's taken some time and some adventures, but you finally made it here - just like we all knew that you would. Being a pirate in my former life, I had never known True Love, nor had I ever really seen it with my own eyes. True Love was for royals or people with better hearts than mine. That all changed when I saw my daughter for the first time. It didn't matter how she came to be, because as I looked down at her, I knew what True Love was for the first time in my life. All that I ever wanted for her was to be healthy and happy and I knew that was finally true the first time I saw the two of you together._

 _Alice, when you told me that you'd fallen in love, my fatherly instinct was to find whatever young man had caught you and make sure he knew how to treasure you properly. Oh, alright, so maybe there was a sword in there, somewhere - can you truly blame me? When you told me her name, I was overjoyed! I knew Robin and I knew what kind of person she is - not just from your letters, but from what I had seen her do for the Resistance. I could think of no better person for you to fall in love with for the first time. It has been my pleasure to watch that first time love grow into something deeper and more meaningful between the two you._

 _Alice and Robin, today you have taken the next step in your lives together. Now, I'm not a bloody prophet, just the proudest Papa (and Papa-in-law) in all the Realms, but I foresee a long and happy future for the two of you. Cheers!" – Killian 'Rogers' Jones, Father of the bride_

 _ **3-}-}-} 3-}-}-} 3-}-}-} 3-}-}-} 3-}-}-} 3-}-}-}  
3-}-}-} 3-}-}-} 3-}-}-} 3-}-}-} 3-}-}-} 3-}-}-}**_

Alice Jones wandered down the sidewalk on the main street of Storybrooke, towards _Granny's Diner_ , where she was meeting her girlfriend, Robin Mills aka Robin Hood. This was an almost weekly routine for them, since neither one really liked to cook after a long day at work. Robin had gotten a job working at the local high school, teaching P.E. and coaching the local Archery club. It seemed that Robin's past athleticism was still something that was talked about by teachers and students - present and former - alike. When word got out that she was looking for a job, they had reached out to her and asked if she'd like to work with them.

It was, as Robin liked to say, "a sweaty and mostly thankless job', but Alice knew that she secretly loved working with the kids. Robin had the patience of a saint, as far as Alice was concerned, and the kids, no matter how much they grumbled, were all in awe of the former outlaw/hero. It also didn't hurt that her girlfriend was exceptionally attractive and they _were_ teenagers.

It was a good thing that _everyone_ in Storybrooke knew that Robin was extremely taken.

It was also good that nearly everyone who had met Alice was charmed by her almost immediately. It was how she had managed to set herself up as a freelance artist - and made pretty decent money from it. She was so popular, in fact, that the elementary school sometimes called her in to substitute when the usual art teacher was sick or out on leave. Those were her favourite days, because the kids all loved to hear her stories of her adventuring days, as well as the ones she told them about Hyperion Heights, while they worked on whatever project they had for the day. Plus, Alice was also working with Henry Mills - Robin's cousin - on a children's book, based on some of her tales. She was doing all the illustrations, of course, so it might be taking longer than it should.

When she was just about a block from the diner, as she was waiting for cars to pass, she suddenly felt a tug at her shirt. Since it was late spring, the weather was gorgeous and she was only wearing a pair of black cotton slacks, heavy enough to keep her legs warm when the temperature dropped later, but light enough that she wasn't too hot. Her blouse was short-sleeved and was Robin's favourite colour of green. In fact, it might have actually _been_ Robin's shirt. She hoped her archer wasn't too upset with her for wearing it. Alice had been a little distracted when she had gotten dressed to meet up with Robin, earlier.

It was a good thing that Robin had often told Alice how cute she was when she would put on the archer's shirt in the middle of the night to use the bathroom. Maybe she'd think this was cute, too?

The tug at said shirt made Alice look down. When she did, she saw a mop of brown hair, a pair of matching brown eyes glinting with mischief, and a sly smile. It took her a moment to realise that she knew this little boy.

"Hello there, Trevor. How are you today?" She asked the seven-year-old. She knew that he was seven because his birthday had been just last week and she'd been fortunate enough to be subbing that day. He must've told her a dozen times that it was his birthday and that he was seven.

"Hi, Miss Alice," the boy said, enthusiastically. For the first few months or so, it had taken Alice some time to get used to people knowing who she was. After all, she'd spent so long in Seattle as Tilly, where _nobody_ had seemed to know who she was, that she expected it to be the same, for some reason. The boy held out his arm, his little hand clasped around the stem of a single purple rose - thorns removed, of course. "Miss Alice, this is for you!" He declared.

Baffled, but touched, Alice allowed him to deposit the flower into her outstretched palm. "Thank you, Trevor, that's very thoughtful of you. How did you know I like purple flowers?"

"It's not from _me_ , silly. My _brother_ told me to give it to you." He turned and pointed just up the street. A young man was leaning against the wall of one of the businesses in jeans and a Storybrooke High sweatshirt. When he saw Alice look at him, he just smiled. Then he nodded his head once and used his chin to indicate that the woman should look at the flower again. When she did, Alice noticed that a thin piece of string was tied just under the head of the flower. Attached to the string was a small piece of thick parchment. Written on the parchment were two words.

 **SMELL ME**

"Did I do good?" Trevor asked, suddenly.

Unsure of exactly what he was talking about, Alice nodded her head. "Yes, Trevor, you did very well. Thank you."

"Yay!" He exclaimed, happily. Then he turned away from her and ran to where the young man was standing. Alice watched as the teen leaned down and said something to his brother, who nodded vigorously, grinning. Then, he smiled too, and gave Trevor a high five. Trevor looked like he might burst with happiness as they both turned and started to walk away. Alice wanted to run after them and ask just what was going on.

Instead, she turned her attention back to the flower. Which, she realised, wasn't a real flower at all. The stem was made of wood, painted green. The 'petals' of the flower were made of what she thought might be silk. Finally, she did as the note suggested and brought the 'flower' up to her nose, giving it a hesitant sniff.

Familiar perfume wafted – a sweet scent that reminded her of cotton candy - gently to her nostrils, making her smile automatically.

Robin.

Trevor's brother must be one of her students. Gosh, her girlfriend could be _so romantic_ at times! It never ceased to surprise Alice, how sweet and kind and caring Robin was. She'd definitely fallen in love with a good one.

Sniffing the rose once more, Alice tucked it gently into her back pocket, and when the traffic finally gave her the right, she crossed to the other side of the street and continued her stroll to _Granny's Diner_.  
 ************  
************  
Robin Mills had never been so nervous in her entire life.

Tonight was the night.

Tonight, she was going to ask her girlfriend to marry her.

It had been a long time in coming and she still had no idea why she hadn't asked the beautiful blonde adventurer years ago. In her defence, she had been taking it slow for Alice's benefit, because she didn't want to overwhelm the woman she loved more than pretty much anything. Her love had had a sort of strange life and while she tended to jump into adventures with her eyes closed, the more domestic things in life could be a little bit much for her.

Alright, if she was being truthful, Robin hadn't asked Alice to marry her when they were still in the New Enchanted Forest because her adventurer had still been looking for a way to cure the poison that was in her father's heart and kept them from so much as holding hands. Robin hadn't wanted that looming over what should be their special day. Plus, she wanted Alice's father to walk his daughter down the aisle.

That problem had been solved some months back when a good friend of both Alice and her fathers had given his life and his heart. Literally. He'd pulled his heart out of his own chest and then shoved it into Killian Jones' chest, saving his life. The man - called by names such as Mr. Gold, Detective Weaver, and his true name, Rumplestiltskin - had done what needed to be because it was the right thing to do. He'd died, then, and everyone who knew him hoped that his final act of pure selflessness had reunited him with his beloved wife, Belle.

Which meant that the problem of a poisoned heart was over. So why had it taken Robin nearly a year afterward to actually get up the courage to pop the question?

As far as the archer was able to determine, it had just been nerves. First of all, she _knew_ that Alice loved her. She was 99.99999999% certain that the former adventurer would say yes. She was even sure that the ring she'd saved up to buy was absolutely _perfect_.

So, tonight was _it_.

Tonight, she waited in front of _Granny's Diner_ , where she'd asked Alice to meet her. Robin ran her fingers through her dark blonde hair, letting it fall across her shoulders. Alice always said she liked it when it was down. Robin looked down at the plain khaki pants and her normal leather booths, then regarded her shirt. It was a pale purple button up, with the top two buttons undone. Three-quarters sleeved, it had been a birthday gift from her mother this year, with the buttons being little arrows. Alice had loved it and insisted on Robin's wearing it that day.

Reaching into her pocket, she pulled out the engagement ring that had taken her a little over six months to pay for. It was silver - because Alice preferred that to gold, for some reason - and had a braided band. The central jewel was a plain round cut 1.5 carat diamond. While that was not as large as Robin would have liked, she knew that Alice didn't need big shiny jewels to be happy. In fact, the former Realm hopping adventurer still wore the simple woven bracelet that the archer had given her as a first gift. The simpler, the better, really. This ring was pretty simple as it went. On either side of the diamond was a single, smaller, heart-shaped sapphire. That was it. For some reason, though, as soon as Robin had come across it in the discount store in Brunswick, she'd known it was perfect. It was, however, still pretty expensive on a teacher's salary. Luckily, they'd agreed to let her make payments.

Using her shirt sleeve to polish the ring just a little more, Robin slipped it back into her pocket, sat as calmly as she could at one of the picnic tables in front of Granny's, and waited for Alice.

It wasn't long before she saw the object of her affection making her way down the sidewalk. Alice's blonde curls bounced as she strolled towards her destination. Robin could see that she was wearing a familiar green blouse and had to laugh a little. She never really minded when the other woman wore her clothes - they were close to the same size, with Robin being taller only by a couple of inches. It still amazed the archer how well they fit together.

Alice saw Robin stand up and a bright smile lit her face. She held up a hand, waving enthusiastically, and broke into a light jog the last few yards.

Robin waved back and met her love at the little gateway into _Granny's_ outdoor dining courtyard. As soon as she was close enough, Alice launched herself into Robin's waiting embrace, wrapping her arms around her neck and burying her face in the archer's shoulder. It never failed to fill Robin with an infinite tenderness when she could hold the gorgeous blonde woman close like that. Those were the times she felt the most complete, the most at peace.

"Hi," she said, when they pulled back enough to rest their foreheads together.

"Hi," Alice replied, brightly, giggling a little. "Fancy meeting you here, Nobin."

Robin rolled her eyes at the old nickname, even though she still sometimes called Alice 'Tower Girl'. She pulled back just a little so that she could place a light kiss on Alice's cheek. "Thanks for meeting me here."

"It's cool," Alice replied, grinning. "I didn't feel much like cooking today, either."

"Busy day?"

"Productive."

"Well, that's good, at least. Are you hungry?" Robin asked. They finally untangled themselves and started walking, hand-in-hand, towards the diner's door.

"I could eat." Which was Alice code for 'I was so engrossed with what I was doing, I haven't eaten much, today'. "Oh, and thanks for the flower."

That made Robin grin. So, her plan had worked. When she'd asked Cole, one of her archery students, to wait for Alice on her walk to the diner, she hadn't been sure he would be able to catch her. Cole, who was a fairly popular athlete at school, had admitted to her once that he had seen Robin and Alice kiss and hoped that someday he'd have a love like theirs. He was uncommonly romantic for a boy his age and had readily agreed to deliver the flower when she'd asked.

"Do you like it? I made it myself." Robin stopped walking about halfway to the diner's door, and tugged Alice closer to one of the picnic tables. The blonde looked surprised and reached behind her, extracting the flower from where she'd tucked it into her back pocket. She looked at with respect and then back at Robin.

"It's beautiful, love. Thank you!" She picked up Robin's hand in her free one and brought it to her lips.

"It took a while to get the petals just right. I'm glad you like it." Robin felt some pride in her work.

"I really do. Thank you." She put the piece of art safely back in her pocket. "Shall we go eat?"

"Just a sec," Robin stopped her, "I have something I need to talk to you about."

"Oh! Okay." Alice leaned casually against the top of the picnic table. "What's up?"

Taking a deep breath, Robin smiled as she studied the features of the woman in front of her, as familiar to her now as her own reflection. Alice had the most beautiful blue eyes the archer had ever seen. They were clear and guileless and deeper than a mountain lake. It was those eyes that Robin had first fallen for. Next was the smile that always seemed to make everything around her seem brighter. Pale blonde curls, usually only pulled back enough to keep them out of her face, hung to just below Alice's shoulders. Robin loved to run her finger through the silken tresses. The rest of Alice's body was, as far as the archer was concerned, perfection. When paired with the blonde's keen wit and intelligence, as well as her ability to think outside of the box, made her, in Robin's opinion, the perfect woman for her.

"I love you." When Alice opened her mouth to reply in kind, Robin reached up and put a gentle finger to her lips, silencing her. "I know. And that's why this has been a really long time in coming. I'm sorry it took so long. I had this whole speech memorised, but when I look at you, it seems… not enough. So," Robin lowered herself to one knee and pulled the ring from her pocket in one move, "Alice Jones, will you marry me?"  
 ************  
************  
Alice stared in shock at the little silver ring with the - what seemed like, to her - large diamond, flanked by two pretty blue sapphires being held out to her. She looked from the shiny object to the face of her beloved and felt that same joy she'd felt so long ago the first time Robin had kissed her. Her stomach flip-flopped and her heart seemed to stutter in her chest. The look in the archer's soft green eyes was earnest and full of affection.

Many things flashed through the former adventurer's mind in that single, frozen moment. Memories from two lifetimes blended themselves into a whole life.

 _Escaping from the tall, lonely Tower with the help of a Troll that she'd unknowingly created._

 _Her adventures in Wonderland and other exotic Realms – searching for a cure for her Papa._

 _Robin, the very first time they met, holding a drawn arrow to her head._

 _Margot, telling Tilly that all the best people are mad, the night she'd save Tilly from being hit by a speeding car on the streets of Hyperion Heights._

 _The way that Robin had blushed when she gave Alice the beautiful rainbow bracelet that she'd made._

 _Robin, smiling at her and laughing at a stupid joke as they walked through the Forest together._

 _Margot's smile from behind her glasses as she and Tilly talked on the bench next to_ Rollin' Bayou _._

 _The way Margot looked so relieved when Tilly agreed to their first official date._

 _Robin's green eyes crinkling at the corners and darkening just a little - her only give away before she'd pressed her lips against Alice's for the first time, underneath the big oak tree in the Forest._

 _Margot telling Tilly that it didn't matter what kind of day she had - good or bad - she could handle it._

 _Robin showing up that terrible day, just before the curse took them - just long enough to prove to Alice that her love was True._

 _Waking up in awful cave, like coming out of a nightmare and seeing Robin/Margot the very first thing._

 _The first time they had ever been truly intimate and the way they seemed to fit together like pieces of a puzzle._

In that single moment, Alice saw everything that had led up to this point. She saw _Robin_. Her Robin.

Who was waiting for an answer…

Tears of joy welled in Alice's eyes and leaked down her cheeks. She couldn't help the smile that stretched from ear to ear as she started to nod her head. It took another moment before her lips and tongue could frame the word.

"Yes!"

Her own hands shaking a little, Robin slid the ring onto Alice's waiting finger. Then, she got slowly to her feet and pulled the blonde into another embrace. Strong arms held her tenderly and she felt the familiar sensation of lips on her temple. Alice wrapped her arms around Robin's waist, the feel of the hug both the same and different from the ones before. Her tears dried quickly and were replaced by a feeling of awe.

She was going to get married! She was going to get married to _Robin_.

Pulling back from her new fiancée just enough, Alice found her love's mouth with her own, sealing their engagement with a fierce kiss.

Robin made the little sound in the back of her throat that she did whenever Alice kissed her. A hand came up to gently cradle the back of the blonde's head, long, strong fingers threaded through her hair, holding her in place. As if there was anywhere else Alice would rather be at that very moment. Well, okay, maybe _one_ other place.

It wasn't a long kiss, and they did a good job keeping it pretty tame - for them. When it wound down, they leaned their foreheads together again, just taking some time to stare into each other's eyes. Love in soft green reflected back love in sky blue. Neither woman said anything for a few minutes, trying to keep this moment going for just a little longer.

"Well, this was unexpected," Alice finally said, her voice a little shaky. She held up her hand and stared at the ring on it. It fit perfectly - neither loose, nor tight. It felt like it was meant to be there.

Robin looked at it, too, her smile a little dazed. "Perfect." Was all she said. Alice couldn't help but agree.

Finally, after a few more minutes in their own little bubble, they eased apart again. Alice's stomach rumbled loudly enough to be heard inside the diner. They both laughed.

"Come on, beautiful, let's go get something to eat." Robin took her hand and their fingers wove together with the ease of long familiarity.

"To go?" Alice suggested. "I sort of want to go home and… celebrate."

The beautiful, romantic, wonderful woman who was now Alice's fiancée grinned. "I do love how your mind works, Tower Girl. To go it is."

Together, they walked up the stairs and into the diner, hand-in-hand.

Author's Note: This is a new little thing that has been rattling around in my brain for a bit – it does not take place along with my others – I have other plans. I'm still working on my other stories, but this one was clamouring for attention, so I thought I'd get it down. There will definitely be more to come. Hope you liked it. Cheers!


	2. Chapter 2

_**Disclaimer**_ : I do not own Once Upon a Time or any of the characters. I'm new to this particular fandom – CuriousArcher, MadArcher, whatever you want to call it. I mean, how hard was it to not love Robin and Alice? They're totally adorable! Thanks, OUaT!

 **The Announcement**

" _I once said that all of my happiness started when Robin was born. It's the simple truth. I, too, learned what real love was the first time I held my little one. I wanted nothing but the best for her, wanted her to grow up brave and strong and fierce. And maybe just a little bit wicked. She did all of that and more. My little Robin has grown into a woman that I cannot help but to admire. She followed in her father's footsteps, which is something that both terrified me and made me prouder than I ever thought I could be. She even managed to find her True Love in the bargain._

 _Alice, I couldn't be happier to officially welcome you to the family. Ever since Robin told me that she had met someone special, someone that she could imagine spending the rest of her life with, I just had to meet you. Once I did, I knew that my daughter was wise beyond her years. I may have teased her - and you - about young love, but I knew, even then. When you found your way back to each other in Hyperion Heights, I was certain that it was True Love._

 _Seeing you confirm that love today will be a moment I will treasure forever. May your love spring eternal and guide you through your lives, together. To Robin and Alice!" - Zelena Mills-Sage, Mother of the Bride_

 _ **3-{{{ 3-{{{ 3-{{{ 3-{{{ 3-{{{ 3-{{{  
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The first person they told was Robin's mother, Zelena, who lived with her new husband in San Francisco. They hadn't really discussed how they were going to announce their engagement the night before, due to being too busy celebrating said engagement. They had been up late the night before, revelling in their new status, only falling asleep in a tangle of blankets and limbs when both were completely sated. So, when Robin's cell phone started blaring the theme for the Wicked Witch of the West from _The Wizard of Oz_ from the night stand where Robin had set it to charge, it jolted both women out of a heavy, exhausted sleep.

At first, Robin did her best to ignore the sound. She was warm and comfortable with Alice curled into her side, her arm draped across the archer's middle, legs entwined. Waking up like that was one of Robin's favourite things - something she knew that she would never take for granted again. After the curse and being separated for what felt like years, neither woman was comfortable being away from the other for longer than a day or so. Sharing a bed - and a home - was a desperate dream come true for both of them.

Ignoring the phone did nothing. As soon as it stopped ringing, it started again.

Alice groaned. "Make it go away, Nobin."

Sighing and yawning, Robin reluctantly rolled away from her fiancée, palming her phone and swiping the answer button with her thumb.

"Hey, Mom," Robin said, stifling a yawn. She had no idea why her mother would be calling so early. Okay, so maybe not early for them, but it was a little before 8:00 AM in San Francisco.

" _Robin! Hello, my darling! Is everything alright?_ " Zelena Mills-Sage's voice chirped in her daughter's ear.

"Yeah, Mom." Robin stifled another yawn. "Why do you ask?"

" _Oh, good. You just took so long answering_ ," Zelena paused. " _I worry, with you and Alice living so far away_."

The archer sighed. The decision she and Alice had made to move to Storybrooke hadn't been an easy one. Robin certainly hadn't figured she'd ever go back to the town after the last time. However, once her Aunt Regina had cast the very last curse that brought all the Realms of Story to one place - a forgotten little corner of Maine - Storybrooke wasn't the same small town that Robin had grown up in and hated with a passion. It didn't help that Alice had completely fallen in love with the place.

"I know, Mom, but you're coming to visit soon, right? I made sure the old farmhouse is clean and ready for you and Chad." Robin told her mother, trying to soothe her. She had a feeling that once her mother's new husband saw the farm where Robin had grown up and had his first real Storybrooke experience, her mother would become a permanent citizen of the United Realms, as they were called now, again.

" _Yes, in just a week and a half. And thank you for that, darling_." Zelena replied. Another yawn snuck up on Robin and she was unable to hid it.

"Sorry," she apologized, belatedly.

" _Are you sure you're alright? Why are you so tired? Are you coming down with something?_ "

"I'm _fine_ , Mom." Robin emphasised the word. "We both are. We were just up late, last night. In fact," Robin looked over her shoulder at Alice, who was now also awake and obviously listening to her side of the conversation, "we have some good news."

" _Really? Well, that's a coincidence, because so do I. I think, it's good, at least._ " Zelena replied, losing the 'worried mom' voice and becoming all chirpy again.

"Oh, okay! What's up?" Robin asked. She had sat up cross-legged in the bed to answer her mother's call. Now, she felt the bed move behind her. Seconds later, strong arms circled her waist and Alice's warm, very naked, front leaned against her back. The blonde put her head on her fiancée's shoulder, ear next to the phone, so that she, too, could hear what her future mother-in-law had to share. Robin shivered at her touch, flashes of the night before making it a little difficult to concentrate on what her mother was saying.

Which was okay, because Zelena was sort of rambling. _"... It's not something I was expecting and it's… it's a little bit scary. Chad and I… we've never discussed it_."

"Mom, are you okay? Is something wrong?" Robin asked. It was her turn to be concerned. Her mother didn't usually ramble like this.

Zelena stopped talking for a moment. Then, she took a deep breath. " _Yes, darling, I'm fine. I'm better than that, actually. Robin, I'm pregnant._ "

Alice sucked in a breath and the archer froze. "What?"

" _I just found out this morning, a few minutes before I called you,_ " her mother told her. " _At my last check up, I mentioned to the doctor that I'd been feeling more tired than I normally did, so he decided to do a blood test. The results came back and he called me this morning to tell me. I'm pregnant._ "

"Mom…" It took Robin a few moments to figure out how she felt about this news.

" _Are you okay, Robin? I know this is something of a shock. I… I honestly didn't think that it could happen again, not after the way you were born._ " Robin knew that she was referring to the fact that magic had been involved in both her conception and her being born about six months too early.

Her initial shock wearing off, the archer felt her lips stretch into a huge smile. "Mom, that's _amazing_ news!" She nearly shouted into her phone. "I can't believe it. Congratulations!"

Alice took the phone from her for a moment and added her own enthusiastic praise for a moment before putting it back to her fiancée's ear.

Zelena was silent for a moment. " _Really?_ " Her voice was small, something that Robin wasn't used to. " _You're okay with it?_ "

A little confused, Robin replied, "Yeah. Mom, why wouldn't I be?"

" _Well, it's just that you've been my only child for so long… I thought you might be, I don't know,_ jealous _, or something._ " The formerly wicked witch told her. " _You were the first person I thought of when I got the news._ "

Touched, Robin let out a little laugh. "Oh, Mom! Yes, I'm sure. This is so exciting! I'm finally going to be a big sister!"

Zelena let out a relieved, watery sounding laugh. " _You have no idea how happy I am to hear you say that_!"

"Mom. I love you and I like Chad. I already know you're a great mom and I'm sure he's going to be a really good dad. Wait, you didn't tell him, yet?"

" _No! I'm… I'm not sure how to tell him. I mean, next to telling him I'm a witch who can do actual magic, this should be a piece of cake, right? It's just that we never discussed having children. I had you and that was always enough for me. Chad… he loves you like you're his own, you know, but we_ never _talked about having a_ baby _._ " Zelena was rambling again.

"Mom, stop," Robin commanded, using what Alice referred to as her 'teacher voice'. Her mother stopped talking. "Mom, Chad loves you. He accepted you, your past, he even seemed happy when you told him you had magic. Telling him that you're going to have his baby is going to send him through the roof with happiness. I know it. So, where is he, and why don't you go tell him?"

Zelena let out another long sigh. " _You're certain?_ "

"Yes, Mom."

" _Well, he's out, right now, doing some volunteer work at the pet shelter by the apartment - remember that place? Should I call or wait until he gets back, do you think?_ "

Robin rolled her eyes. She remembered when her mother had first introduced her to Chad, had told her daughter that it was serious between them. From the very beginning, the man had been nothing but nice and had treated her mother as though she were the most precious thing on the planet. Robin wondered if it was just pregnancy hormones causing her mother to dither like this.

"Mom, I love you, but I think this is something you should probably tell him in person."

" _Yes, darling, you're absolutely right. Oh, Robin! I'm going to have baby!_ " Zelena laughed aloud, pure and happy. It was a sound that Robin had been hearing more and more since her mother had married Chad.

"I am really, really happy for you, Mom. Now, you need to tell your husband." She felt Alice's arms around her waist tighten and the blonde cleared her throat loudly. "Oh, wait!"

" _Is everything alright?_ "

"Yeah, it's just that there's something I - we - want to tell you." Robin said, taking her lover's unsubtle hint.

" _Oh, yes, I'm sorry. You said that earlier. What is it?_ "

"Last night I… I asked Alice to marry me, Mom. She said yes."

Zelena let out another of her happy laughs. " _Oh Robin, that's wonderful! I'm so thrilled for you both. Did she like the ring?_ " Robin had taken a picture and sent it to her mother once she'd decided on it. Zelena had volunteered to help her buy it, but Robin had politely refused. It was something that she had to do herself.

"I love it!" Alice replied. She let go of Robin's waist with one arm, bringing the ring up so they could both see it on her finger. It really was gorgeous.

" _I'm glad, my dear. Today is a truly wonderful day! Oh!_ " Her mother paused. " _He's home. Darlings, I've got to go. Call me later - I want all the details. Love you both!_ " With that, there was a _beep_ and the call ended.

"Well." Alice spoke into the ensuing silence.

"Yeah."

"That was unexpected."

"Yeah."

"Are you really alright, Robin?" Alice kissed her shoulder as Robin set her phone back on the nightstand.

"Yes. I'm thrilled, actually. But I think I might want to talk to Emma and find out what it's like to be 28 years older than her sibling." Robin laughed. "Well, I guess we'd better get up and start telling people."

"Why?"

"You know my mom - she won't be able to keep it to herself for long. And there are a few people I think should hear it from us, first. Like, your dad."

"Oh! Yeah, you're right." Alice let out a sigh that made goose bumps break out across Robin's shoulders. She moaned softly.

"It's too bad, too. I was really hoping to pick up where we left off," Robin said.

"There's always the shower," Alice suggested, coyly.

"I really do love the way you think, Tower Girl."  
 ************  
************  
Alice suggested seeing if her father would meet Robin, herself, and Robin's aunt Regina for a picnic lunch in the park. So, Robin had called Rogers and Alice had called Regina and they'd both suppressed giggles as they requested the meeting without going into detail. Luckily for them both, the older adults were intrigued, rather than annoyed, and agreed to meet in an hour. That gave them time to make up some sandwiches - marmalade for Rogers and Alice, and turkey and cheese with lettuce, tomatoes, and spicy mustard - added some fresh red apples, some water bottles, and cookies for dessert. The apples and sandwiches would have been enough for Robin, but Alice had a sweet tooth a mile wide.

Before they left the apartment to walk to the park, Alice turned her ring so that only the braided silver band was visible - the jewel side facing her palm. She didn't want to give anything away before the big reveal. Robin kissed her for her foresight and they were almost late leaving because even after the shower, and the night before, their emotions were still running high.

The park wasn't all that far away, so it didn't take them all that long to walk there. As with the day before, it was warm, however, a light breeze was intermittently blowing in off the ocean, carrying the smell of salt water with it. Robin inhaled deeply. She loved the smell of the ocean. It wasn't the same as that of the forest she also loved, but it always reminded her of _home_.

As they walked, other people passed them by, waving and sometimes calling out a greeting. Robin would smile back and Alice would respond. It was how they worked. Alice was just naturally friendlier than Robin, it was part of why the archer loved her so much.

When they reached the park, Alice's father was already waiting for them. He was leaning casually against a tree, just watching other people in the park. Robin couldn't help the grin that lit her face upon seeing her soon to be father-in-law. Ever since their cursed days in Hyperion Heights, the dark-haired ex-pirate had integrated into modern society much better than the original Killian Jones. Not only that, but he had also integrated into Storybrooke, working part time for the Sheriff, Emma Swan. As it turned out, he'd actually enjoyed being a police officer and a detective, something that was in short supply amongst the United Realms. His experience in both Hyperion Heights, as well as that of his time in the Forest made him nearly indispensable.

Rogers saw them coming and his own grin split his face. Alice saw him and was shoving the picnic basket into Robin's arms a moment later. Then, the blonde took off at a run towards her father. Rogers levered himself away from the tree and braced for the impact that was a hug from his daughter. After so many years apart, unable to get close enough to touch without causing her father pain, Alice was always enthusiastic in greeting her father, every time she saw him. It was such a beautiful sight that it made Robin's heart melt each and every time she witnessed it.

"Now that's something I'll never get tired of seeing," a voice said from behind Robin. She didn't need to turn around to know who it was.

"Aunt Regina!" She turned around anyway and set the basket on the ground so that she could hug her favourite relative.

The raven-haired woman was smiling happily as she embraced her niece in a tight hug. "Oh, it is good to see you, Robin." Regina said when they had parted. Her smile faded a little as she studied the archer's face. "Is everything alright? Alice was sort of cryptic on why she wanted me to meet you here."

Robin laughed and pulled her aunt in for another hug. "Everything's fine, I swear. She was just playing with you."

Regina chuckled, shaking her head in amusement. "The two of you… Well, I'm glad to hear it. Why don't we go join them? I think they're ready for us." She suggested. When she leaned down to pick up the basket, though, Robin stopped her. The former evil queen's mouth twisted in a familiar wry smile and she let it go.

When Alice had called earlier, Robin had been half afraid her aunt wouldn't be able to make it. After all, she was a busy woman. She was no longer the Mayor of Storybrooke, but only because she was overseeing the integration of all the new Realms that had been added to their community due to her very last - everyone hoped - curse. As it turned out, despite the fact that most people had known her as 'The Evil Queen', they all trusted her, now. Word had gotten out that she'd changed and now worked _with_ all the people she'd previously spent years trying to kill. If that wasn't a character statement, Robin didn't know what was.

She was glad beyond belief that Regina had been able to come today.

They met Alice and her father halfway, then walked back to the tree Rogers had been leaning against. Rogers gave Robin a quick hug, while Regina did the same for Alice. Why he hadn't sat at the picnic table that was right next to the tree was anybody's guess. Robin put the basket on the table, meeting Alice's gaze as she did. The blonde gave a small nod and left her father's side to come stand next to the archer.

"Hey, before we sit down, there's something Alice and I need to tell you. It's why we invited you here." Robin spoke up.

Both Rogers and Regina exchanged amused glances. "Do tell, love," Rogers replied.

Alice grinned at her father. She twisted the ring around on her finger and held out her hand. "Robin asked me to marry her! Papa, isn't that wonderful?"

Rogers let out a bark of surprised laughter. Regina's face lit up, too. What followed was a lot more hugging, laughter, and a bit of tears on Alice and her father's part.

"This is the best news I've heard in a long time," Regina told her niece, hugging her hard. "Congratulations, Robin." Then in a low voice, she asked, "Have you told your mother?"

"Just a little bit ago," Robin confirmed.

"Good girl. She's thrilled, I'm sure."

Robin wanted to say something about her mother and Chad being thrilled for other reasons, but didn't. It wasn't for her to tell. "Yeah. She's even more excited to come out, now."

"Hey, hey!" Someone new said, suddenly. "This looks like a celebration. Got any room for more?"

"Emma!" Robin let her aunt go and turned to find a tall blonde woman wearing jeans, hiking boots, and a red t-shirt. On top of that, she had a bright green baby sling with her daughter, Hope, cuddled inside.

"Hey, kiddo. What's going on here? Regina." She smiled and inclined her head to Robin's aunt. The archer looked over Emma's shoulder to see her husband, Killian Jones - the original - arms full with a stroller and diaper bag, behind him came Emma's mother and father, - Snow White and David Nolan aka Prince Charming - their six-year-old son Neal holding their hands. With them as well were Henry, his wife, Ella, and their daughters, Lucy and Cecelia. Well, the whole family was here. Wasn't that convenient?

She extracted Alice from her father, and when the entire group was gathered around, they broke the news to everyone at once. More hugs ensued and Snow and Emma complimented Robin on her choice of ring. Alice seemed to glow at the praise, never letting go of Robin's hand. Lucy, who was nearly a teenager, was just about bubbling with excitement. Alice was one of her favourite people, after all. Her little sister, not even a year old, caught the excitement and wouldn't sit still. What had been meant as a small announcement had turned into a full-blown engagement party. Luckily, there were enough witches present to turn the small picnic lunch into enough to feed everyone. A quick run to Granny's also yielded macaroni salad and a chocolate cream pie - Alice and Robin's favourite.

Several hours later, when the two women returned to their apartment, happy and tired, they both had to admit that it had been a great day. Just before they went to bed, Robin checked her phone since she'd put it on silent for the entirety of the party. She had a single missed call from her mother. She put it on speaker so Alice could hear it, too.

" _Robin, I just wanted to let you know that I told Chad. You were right, darling, he's thrilled! And he says congratulations to you and Alice. We simply cannot wait to see you both! Love you!_ "

Alice giggled merrily as they cuddled together under the blankets and Robin couldn't help grinning like a fool as she fell asleep feeling the happiest she'd ever been in her life.

 _ **Author's Note**_ : Okay, so here's chapter 2. These chapters seem to be getting away from me and I can't seem to keep them as short as my other story's, so I apologise if you don't like long chapters. For those of you who do, well, enjoy! Welcome to Morbid Crow, thank you for the follow. And thanks again, to for her kind words of encouragement. Reviews are not only welcome, but highly encouraged. Cheers!


	3. Chapter 3

_**Disclaimer**_ : I do not own Once Upon a Time or any of the characters. I'm new to this particular fandom – CuriousArcher, MadArcher, whatever you want to call it. I mean, how hard was it to not love Robin and Alice? They're totally adorable! Thanks, OUaT!

 **The Planning - Part I**

 _I'm not one for long speeches, so here goes. Robin and Alice, it is my deepest pleasure to see the two of you come together today. Robin, I watched you grow into the remarkable woman that you are today and I could not be prouder if you were my own daughter. I think that it's safe for me to say that if he could be here, your father would be so very proud of the person that you have become. You are every bit his namesake and his legacy and even though we miss him terribly, we can all see that he lives on through you._

 _Alice, I may not have seen you grow up, but clearly you must be a very special person to have won the heart of my niece. Getting to know you these past few years and even more so these last few months, has been one of the best times of my life. I can see just how happy you make Robin and how happy she makes you. I've seen a lot of True Love in my time and I see it in the two of you. Congratulations! - Regina Mills, The Good Queen of the United Realms_

 _ **3-{{{ 3-{{{ 3-{{{ 3-{{{ 3-{{{ 3-{{{  
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Alice Jones had never felt more miserable in her life. It wasn't supposed to be this way. Planning a wedding was, from what she had seen on television, supposed to be fun. Maybe a little bit stressful, but fun. It wasn't supposed to end with one person storming off and shutting themselves in a room, while the other person was left wondering where the conversation had gone wrong. The problem was that Alice had no idea how to tell Robin what was bothering her and, instead, had retreated without a word, into the spare bedroom that had become her art studio.

Alice heard the door to the apartment close _hard_. It wasn't slammed - Robin was too polite to their neighbours for that. It didn't make the sound less loud in Alice's ears. She stood next to the window and watched as the woman she loved stalked out onto the sidewalk, dressed in a green windbreaker, Alice's favourite black jeans, and a pair of sturdy combat boots Robin had inherited from her cursed persona, Margot. The wind was blowing pretty hard, making Robin's loose dark blonde hair whip around her face, obscuring it.

Her heart felt like lead in her chest. She picked up the ring she'd taken off to avoid getting paint on it and slipped it onto her finger again, feeling tears sting her eyes. Alice really liked the ring. It wasn't too big, or small, and it was silver, her favourite. The braided band reminded her of way two lives could intertwine and become one. The sapphire stones in it provided a brilliant contrast to the round diamond in the middle. Robin could not have picked a better ring, as far as Alice was concerned. She _wanted_ to marry Robin - more than anything.

So why had she been actively avoiding talking about the actual event whenever her love had brought it up today?

 _When Robin had taken Alice to her mother's wedding to Chad, it was the first time Alice had ever been to a wedding. She'd been awed by just how_ pretty _everything and everyone was. She'd loved the ceremony and had cried unabashedly at the recitation of the vows, while Robin had looked on as her mother's Maid of Honour. She'd peppered Robin with questions the rest of their stay in San Francisco - two days - before her attention had been taken up with their own travel plans._

 _Now, a year later, Zelena's was still the only wedding she had ever been witness to._

 _So, when her soon to be mother-in-law had started asking questions about her and Robin's upcoming nuptials, Alice had declined to answer. So had Robin, thankfully, telling her mother that it was too soon and they were still getting used to being engaged. She said there was plenty of time and that they weren't going anywhere. Alice had been grateful for the reprieve. Until today._

 _Today had started out really well. It was now almost summer and in Maine that meant afternoon thunderstorms nearly every afternoon and evening. So, when Robin had suggested going on a hike the night before, just as the daily storm was receding like the tide, Alice had agreed. So, they had gotten up early that day, dressed in layers, since it was bound to get warm and humid once the sun was fully in the sky, and set out. Robin made sure they had plenty of food and water, while Alice carried the pack that they would eventually fill with spare clothing when it got too hot._

 _It wasn't a hard hike and the pace they set was casual. This was more about spending time together than it was about the act of hiking. They talked as they went, joking and laughing, sharing tales of times before they met as dirt and leaves crackled under their feet. It always excited Alice a little to hear about Robin as a little girl growing up in Storybrooke. When they were together in the NEF, Robin was still young and the memories from her childhood were a little raw, so she rarely talked about them. Older, now, and having been through a curse, the archer was a lot freer with what she would talk about._

 _In turn, Alice would often share things about her time in the dreadful Tower with her love. These were stories she told nobody else, not even her father, because it would only make him feel bad. He felt bad enough about all of the time he missed because of his own grievous mistake that she didn't like to remind him of just how much time she'd spent alone. Doctor Hopper kept telling her that she would need to talk to her father soon, because it was important to have closure._

 _When they stopped, it was close to midday. They sat in a clearing in the woods, in a patch of warm sunlight, and ate the food that Robin had packed. Then, just like old times, they cleared away the garbage and lay down next to each other on the picnic blanket, soaking in the day's warmth and the feeling that came with spending time together like they used to. The ground under the blanket was hard, but it didn't bother either of them. Sometimes Alice wished they could go back to the time before and tell their younger selves to enjoy what they had, to make the most of it, because hard times were coming._

" _So," Robin had said, sounding casual, "should we have an indoor or an outdoor wedding?"_

 _The question had caught Alice off her guard. "What?"_

" _The wedding. Should it be indoors or out?"_

" _Um…" Alice hadn't known what to say. She honestly hadn't given it a thought since Robin had shut her mother down._

 _Robin went on, taking Alice's hesitation as an invitation. "I mean, outside is good, but it depends on so many things - people, the weather, that kind of thing - and we haven't even decided on how many people we want to come. But indoors, you know, it can be decorated to_ look _like outside, and the weather isn't a problem. Except then we run into space problems and, again, how many people will be there and the cost of renting somewhere. So… what do you think?"_

 _Alice had been saved from having to answer by a gust of wind that rattled the trees and whipped up the dirt around them. "I think we should probably pack it in and get home before the storm hits today," she replied._

 _Robin sat up and looked around. Another heavy breeze hit them. "Yeah," she said, sounding disappointed, "you're right. Come on, let's get home."_

 _They walked back to their apartment much faster than they had left it, racing against the clouds that had started to drift in off of the ocean. Once they got back to town, their pace slowed and they were back home before they knew it. After cleaning out the packs and putting everything away, they had changed into comfortable clothes, built a fire against the coming chill, and sat down to read - a past time they both enjoyed. Sometimes, they read a book together, taking turns reading aloud, and sometimes they had their own separate tales._

 _That afternoon, however, there seemed to be something on Robin's mind. No matter how engrossing a book was, Alice was always aware of her fiancée's every movement. Today was no different and she could tell that Robin's mind was really on her choice of book. Finally, after a good twenty minutes of watching her fidget from the corner of her eye, Alice put her book down, marked her spot, and turned to the unsettled woman beside her._

" _What's wrong, love?" She asked, gently._

" _Nothing." Robin replied, too quickly. She made a face and Alice raised an eyebrow. "Okay. So… I've been thinking and I… I want to get married before next year. That doesn't give us much time to plan the wedding."_

 _Caught flat-footed once more, Alice could only stare at her._

" _Is that too soon? It's too soon, isn't it?"_

" _What? No! Robin, love, I'd marry you today if I could." Alice told her, truthfully._

" _Really?"_

" _Absolutely."_

" _Okay, so then, we agree, sooner rather than later?"_

" _That sounds lovely." Alice replied with a grin._

" _It really does." Robin smiled at her. "It just means we have a lot of work to do to make it happen."_

 _Alice's own smile faltered. It wasn't that she had an aversion to work - she'd only recently gotten used to actual downtime. She just wasn't sure how to even_ begin _planning a wedding._

" _Okay, so I guess we should probably start with… Why don't you tell me what kind of wedding you always wanted?" Robin suggested. She also put her book down, uncaring as to marking her place._

 _Alice stared at her as though Robin had just spoken to her in a language she didn't know. What kind of wedding she'd always wanted? That…_

 _And suddenly an intense panic gripped Alice. She recognised a panic attack when it started making the edges of her vision flutter with blackness. The problem was, she hadn't had one of these since she was_ Tilly _, hadn't had a good day turn bad since before the curse was broken. It caught her unprepared. Gasping for breath, she stood up suddenly and stumbled away from her place on the sofa in front of the fire, and then fell to her knees._

 _Robin was beside her in moments. "Alice? Sweetheart, what's wrong? Are you okay? Alice?"_

 _No, not_ Alice. Tilly. _But she couldn't get the words out. She couldn't tell the concerned face looming beside her what was happening. Couldn't. Abruptly, she was on her feet again, backing away from Robin. "No." She heard herself say, as if from far away. "No! Go away!"_

 _Stunned, Robin stopped and took several steps back. Hurt replaced the worry on her face. "Alice?" The archer's voice was small, frightened. "W-What's happening? You're scaring me."_

 _Frustration overwhelmed Alice. How could she tell Robin when she didn't even know what was happening herself? "I can't! You don't understand!"_ I don't understand!

" _Not if you don't tell me, I can't." Robin retorted, sounding a little angry herself._

 _Of course not. "I…" Alice tried, but the words just wouldn't come out. She lifted her head and let out a howl of frustrated despair. Her head was all jumbled and she just_ knew _that if she told Robin anything at that moment, it would come out wrong. Instead, she turned on her heel and practically ran into the art studio, shutting and locking the door. A lock couldn't keep Robin out - as the archer had demonstrated the first time they'd met - but with any luck, it would give Alice the time she needed to get herself back together again._

" _Alice?" Robin knocked quietly on the door after only a minute. "Alice, please, talk to me. What's going on?" But Alice didn't answer. She couldn't say a word as hot tears fell and she slumped against the door, pulled her knees to her chest, and buried her face in her arms to muffle her sobs._  
 ************  
************  
Robin Mills felt absolutely wretched.

Thinking back on the conversation, she was absolutely baffled. She had no idea what had caused the look of fear and blind panic on the face of the woman she loved. She hadn't seen that kind of look since Alice had been Tilly and forced to take medication for a condition that didn't exist, just because her magic was greater than the one who had cast the curse. It was so unlike her that Robin couldn't help the fear that had bolted through her. What if this was a hereto unknown side effect of the curse or maybe the medication that Tilly had been forced to take?

At first, she'd waited to see if Alice would come out of the room all on her own. She'd paced for a while, and then, because that wasn't enough, she'd gone around their home and cleaned it like someone with OCD. When her love still hadn't emerged and wasn't answering her through the door, Robin could only think of one thing - one person - to go to. Her Aunt Regina.

She only hoped that her aunt wasn't busy tonight. Being Queen was a difficult, frustrating, time consuming job that her aunt seemed to love. She worked hard to keep this new United Realm as peaceful as she could. Robin started to job towards her destination. Luckily, it hadn't started to rain. Yet.

Regina had a castle that she could live in, but the former Mayor of Storybrooke had chosen to spend her off time in the big house she'd lived in for decades. The light was on in the front window as Robin ran up the walkway to the door and rang the bell. Despite the darkness, it wasn't much past four in the afternoon.

As she waited for someone to answer the door, another bout of wind surged through the air, bringing with it the first drops of cold rain. Robin shivered and wiped the moisture from where it had slapped her cheek. Alice loved the rain, she remembered, and that thought made her want to cry. Should she have left? Maybe calling her aunt would have been just as good. Leaving Alice on her own might have caused even more panic than before.

Just as she was turning to leave, to run back through the rain, the front door opened and Regina was standing there, looking surprised to see her niece on her doorstep.

"Robin! My goodness, what are you doing outside in this weather? Come in, come in."

The archer did as she was told, mostly out of habit at the tone of her aunt's voice. When she was inside, Regina shut the door and faced her. Taking a look at the bleak expression on her niece's face, the older woman made a _tsk_ ing sound and pulled Robin into a hug.

Gripping her aunt hard, the daughter of the infamous Robin Hood began to cry. "Oh dear." Regina murmured. She rubbed Robin's back in slow circles, speaking quietly to her until the young woman had cried herself out. Then, she conjured up a handkerchief and gave it to her. When Robin had wiped her eyes and blew her nose, the piece of cloth vanished.

"Alright, come on." Regina led Robin out of the foyer and into her living room where she'd been curled in a blanket on her sofa, going over some papers that she needed to be familiar with by next week. Robin noticed for the first time that her aunt's long hair was swept up in a messy bun atop her head, held in place with a single blue enamelled hair stick. She was wearing a pair of grey yoga pants and a familiar grey hoodie. The hoodie had once belonged to Robin's father, the original Robin Hood, who had been Regina's True Love, before some… unfortunate things happened.

Settling Robin on the sofa, Regina then conjured up a mug of hot chocolate with whipped cream and cinnamon - a Mills favourite comfort beverage. Robin held the mug and let it warm her hands, though she hadn't realised how cold they were until they curved around the cup.

"Alright. Tell me what's happened, dear." Regina could not have loved Robin more if she were her own child. She'd do whatever she could to help.

So, Robin did, starting with her and Alice's hike that morning and culminating in whatever it was that had happened and caused the blonde to panic and bolt herself into the art room. Regina listened, not stopping her niece until she ran out of words.

"So, what you're saying is that something you said caused Alice to have some sort of panic attack, the way that Tilly would have if this was Hyperion Heights?"

"Yeah. It was exactly like that. Do you remember that time I told you about? Tilly and Margot's first date? When she ran out of the bookstore and I was afraid that I wouldn't see her again?" Robin asked.

Regina nodded thoughtfully. She'd hugged and comforted Margot that day, too, because Kelly - Zelena's cursed persona - had been in San Francisco, planning her wedding to Chad. "I remember. Robin, why did you come to me? Why not your mother?"

It was a fair question, Robin decided. She drank the last bit of her hot chocolate and set the mug down carefully on the glass coffee table. "Because… you know more about curses than she does, Aunt Regina. You might be the only one who would know if what happened today is an after effect of the last curse. Maybe Tilly's memories trying to take over or something?"

"Ah." Regina had to smile at that. It was a testament to her family and just how much magic was a part of it, that magic was also the first thing that was blamed when something out of the ordinary happened. So, the former Evil Queen turned hero thought hard about what she knew of curses and their effects on the people caught in them.

Finally, she said, "I've never heard of anything like this happening once a curse has been broken. Sure, the memories of who we were when we were cursed stay with us, but they are only memories, and our true selves take the driver's seat. No," she paused to smile at Robin reassuringly, "I don't think what happened to Alice was caused by magic."

"You don't? Does that mean _I_ caused it?" Robin felt her heart plunge. How could she have caused the woman she loved more than anything in all the Realms to have a panic attack?

"Well, you obviously didn't do it on purpose, dear one." Regina soothed her. "Do me a favour, Robin. Close your eyes." Robin did as she was asked. "Okay, now I want you to think back, picture in your mind, something that might have triggered Alice's panic."

Robin did as she was told. Of course, at first, she came up with nothing concrete. And then… "The wedding? But I don't understand. Why would talking about our wedding make her panic?" Hadn't Alice said she _wanted_ to get married, sooner rather than later? Had she been lying just to make Robin feel better?

"It might not be the wedding itself, Robin," Regina cautioned her niece. "However, I think that something having to do with the wedding may have been the catalyst. And you know how Alice can be, sometimes, if she can't articulate what's on her mind. She doesn't have the skills to put it into words - so, perhaps that is why she went into her art studio? Maybe she thought that if she could paint it, it would help her find the words to talk to you?"

Robin froze. Could it be that simple? She forgot, sometimes, that Alice hadn't had the easiest life and that Tilly was often a reflection of that. She forgot how long the woman she loved had been trapped, all alone, in that awful Tower, with nobody to talk to, except stuffed animals and a hat. Robin knew that having friends, being in love, those things were all new to Alice and they sometimes overwhelmed her.

She smiled at her aunt for the first time in what felt like ages. "I think I need to go talk to Alice - or at least see if she's ready to talk to me."

Regina smiled knowingly at her. She reached out and squeezed Robin's hand. "I think that's a great idea." She looked towards the window, then, and frowned. "However, I don't believe walking home will be a good idea." Robin looked out the window as well. Sure enough, the rain had started falling in earnest sheets. Robin groaned. "Not to worry, dear. I'll get you home in no time."  
 **************

Alice didn't hear the door open or close. From her place curled into a miserable ball on the sofa, she did hear low murmuring voices and then the sound of rustling fabric. She surmised that Robin was home just before she heard her fiancée's unmistakable footfalls entering the room. She squeezed her eyes shut and tried to pretend to be asleep.

She felt the air move as Robin knelt down next to the sofa. A warm hand rested softly atop Alice's head. The Archer said nothing for a count of 20. Then, "I'm sorry, Alice. I'm so, _so_ sorry."

The former adventurer broke. She couldn't pretend to be asleep anymore. Alice reached up and touched Robin's arm. Robin jumped a little in surprise. "Hey, Tower Girl. Sorry if I woke you." She whispered.

Alice, still unable to find words, just shook her head and sat up slowly. She was a little stiff and wondered how long she'd been lying there. Time had seemed to have no meaning. When she was fully upright, she looked at the crouching woman in front of her and bit her lower lip. Tears burned her eyes at the depth of understanding, patience, and love in the green eyes she adored so much. Shame filled her and she looked away.

"Hey," Robin's voice was still a whisper, "what do you say we tuck up in bed? I know it's a little early, but I…"

"Okay." Alice managed to say. Bed sounded good.

Smiling a little, Robin stood and held out her hand to the blonde. Without thinking, Alice took the hand and got to her feet. She was surprised when Robin used her own momentum to pull her into a brief, gentle hug, dropping a quick kiss on her cheek. Then she tugged their joined hands and led Alice with her to their bedroom's en suite bathroom.

They stood at the hers and hers sinks, washing up and brushing their teeth. It was so normal that for a few moments Alice was able to relax just a little. Then, she picked up her hairbrush and her ring caught the light just right. It reminded her that she'd hurt Robin enough to cause her to leave. Unable to be in that room, suddenly, with her guilt weighing her down, Alice took the brush into the bedroom. However, when she got there, all she did was sit on the bed, staring at the patterns in the wood floor.

She didn't notice when Robin came back in, just felt the bed dip behind her and felt Robin's warm, familiar presence at her back. Without a word, she felt the archer's arm snake around her and gentle fingers plucked the hairbrush from her hand. Moments later she felt the brush begin to slide through her tangled locks. By the time the brush moved freely through her hair, Alice had relaxed. Robin often brushed her hair for her - saying that she loved how soft Alice's hair was when it was all done. Finally, the archer set the brush aside and slipped her arm around the blonde's waist, taking her hand and holding it up so they could both see the ring on her finger, before closing her hand around it.

She leaned forward and rested her forehead against her love's shoulder. "I'm not sure what happened today, but I want you to know that, no matter what, you can talk to me. I'll always listen, even if I don't get it at first. As long as we're together, we can make whatever it is make sense, okay?"

Alice started to shiver. She wasn't cold. Robin's other arm came around her and the other woman pressed herself against the length of the blonde's back. It amazed her just how much having Robin close, being in the circle of her arms made everything better. Maybe next time, she'd just do this, instead of having a panic attack.

When the shaking finally stopped, Alice spoke hesitantly. However, once she started, the words she'd needed to say all day fell from her tongue in a deluge. "I never… I never thought I'd get _married_. When I was little, stuck in the Tower, just me and my papa, he used to read me stories. Prince and princesses, people going on adventures to rescue their True Loves. But I never believed that it could happen to me, because who would want to marry someone who could never leave a place? I only half believed him when Papa told me he'd find a way for me to get out of that place. Then, when it was just me… You can learn to live with something pretty easily when you believe you don't deserve more.

"After I got out of the Tower, I spent all my time looking for a cure for Papa - I never expected to fall in love. I never expected to meet someone like you. When we were together, things never seemed bad - even the poison in his heart didn't seem so incurable. You gave me everything I had ever wanted and didn't even know. And then, I was Tilly.

"Tilly never expected to get married, either. First because she was too busy trying to survive. Then, when things got easier - after Weaver - she learned that people could be really cruel if you let them get too close. Her bad days were just too much for anyone who wasn't Weaver - he somehow always knew just what to say, how to help. She never believed she'd meet someone like Margot, who wasn't afraid of her bad days and who seemed to just _understand_ her, the way nobody else ever did.

"The only wedding I've ever been to was your mother's. The only other ones I've seen have been on television or the movies. I just… I just want to marry you, to be your wife, but I don't know about any of the stuff between."

True to her words minutes before, Robin had listened as Alice spoke. When she was done, the archer let out a slow breath. "Oh, Alice." She whispered. "Oh sweetheart, I'm so sorry!"

"'S'alright." Alice murmured. "I'm sorry, too."

"I didn't think I'd get married, either." Robin said after a few minutes of silence. "When I was a kid, some of the other kids used to be so cruel and they would tell me that I was cursed because of who my mom was. Sometimes, they even said that Aunt Regina was worse and that I was going to be a villain, too. When Mom found out, she took me away to a place where nobody knew us, so that I could grow up without the stigma of who she was. When we came back, I was a rowdy teenager, bent on using magic.

"Remember how I said that I had no friends, no matter what it seemed like? Well, it was true. I was a bully and people only really did what I told them because they were afraid of me. They used to whisper that I had turned out just as wicked as my mom, even though she wasn't like that anymore. It made me really spiteful to her and it also made me believe that I _was_ a villain and I'd never find my True Love. It got worse when I realised that I liked girls - in a small town like Storybrooke, I just _knew_ I'd never meet anyone. So, when Mom wanted to move us to the New Enchanted Forest and start over, I jumped at the chance to go someplace that nobody knew me.

"That was harder than I thought it would be, since the only people who knew me were my mom, Regina, and Henry. I was supposed to be part of the resistance, but mostly I stayed at the farm with Mom, or I went out hunting, trying to live up to my father's legacy. You saw how that turned out. Meeting you, falling in love with you - I never saw that coming. I don't know how to plan a wedding, either, because it's not something I ever thought I'd get to have."

Alice inhaled sharply. She broke away from Robin's embrace only long enough to turn around and fling her arms around her love. The archer let out a _squeak_ of surprise, but enfolded her once again. The two stayed like that for quite some time.

"I shouldn't have freaked out like that," Alice finally said. "It just felt like you wanted me to make all the decisions and I have no idea what I'm doing. I got overwhelmed and it scared me."

"It's okay. I'm a little freaked out, too. I just want to marry you. Planning the wedding is… it's more work than I thought it would be. Maybe we could use a little help?"

"Your mother's ceremony was lovely. Perhaps we could enlist her assistance?" Alice suggested.

Robin had to consider that. "I have an idea. Tomorrow, we can sit down and talk about the kinds of things we think we might like. I'll write them down. Then we can call my mom and see if she might be able to help. I mean, we want this to be _our_ wedding, so we can't let her steamroll us."

Alice giggled. "She is sort of pushy, when she wants to be."

"You have no idea."

"Robin?" Alice asked, as they finally settled under the blankets, Alice's head resting on Robin's shoulder. "I love you. Just so you know." Robin didn't reply. She didn't need to.

 _ **Author's Note**_ : I was thinking that being all alone in a tower and spending years searching for a cure for her father – and failing – had to be pretty mentally and emotionally stagnating. Then, as Tilly, she had to deal with people who couldn't handle her bad days. When you put it all together, she probably didn't think she'd get her happy ending, either. I hope it works and makes sense. A big thanks to my followers: Darth Benton, Jess-Sel, rainbowpuff, HPNicke – you guys a great! Cheers!


	4. Chapter 4

_**Disclaimer**_ : I do not own Once Upon a Time or any of the characters. I'm new to this particular fandom – CuriousArcher, MadArcher, whatever you want to call it. I mean, how hard was it to not love Robin and Alice? They're totally adorable! Thanks, OUaT!

 _I didn't know being an 'unfairy' godmother meant I had to give a speech. I mean, I really good at them, so it makes sense, right? Okay, here goes._

 _It's not every day that I get to attend the wedding of two people so obviously in love. True love is rare - although, maybe not around here? - and it should always be cherished and celebrated. It's not easy and it's never simple. It is, however, something that is well worth the time and effort of any and all struggles. There will always be bumps to get over, arguments, and hurt feelings. But those times are all worth it when you look into the eyes of your partner and you see the same love you feel mirrored back. It's the feeling you get when you see that person, even from a distance, and you just_ know _there is nobody else in the world that you'd rather be with._

 _Alice, I have had the chance over this past year to get to know you better, and I just want to say that my goddaughter could not have found a better person for her. I can see it in the way that you look at her when she's not paying attention and in the ways she always makes sure that you are smiling. I'm so, so happy to get to celebrate this day with you both. To Robin and Alice! - Emma Swan, 'unfairy' Godmother_

 **The Planning - Part II**

Robin let out a shaky breath and rolled sideways. Her arm snagged about Alice's waist as she did and pulled the other woman as close to her as possible. Alice let out contented murmur and laid her head on the archer's shoulder. The couch wasn't quite wide enough for the two of them to lay on it together, but they'd made do. They had more than made do. What had started as a simple, sweet kiss had ended in several hours of something a lot more carnal.

"Well, I didn't expect _that_ ," Alice commented, when she'd caught her breath and her aftershocks had subsided.

Robin laughed a kissed the top of her head. "Really? 'Cuz I'm pretty sure _you_ started it."

"Did I?" Alice purred, then giggled. "Maybe I did."

Robin couldn't help chuckling again. All _she_ had done was lean down to kiss Alice's cheek when she found her fiancée lying on the sofa when she'd come home from work. She had seemed tired, and the archer hadn't wanted to bother her too much. However, when she'd tried to place her lips on the soft cheek of the woman she loved, Alice had turned her head. Soft skin had become warm lips - just as soft, but in an even better way. Before long, the make out session progressed and clothing was discarded.

"You're cute." Robin told the blonde.

"Only cute?"

"Well…" The archer wiggled her fingers along the blonde's ribs, making her squirm. "Yeah, definitely cute."

"Hey!" They laughed together as the tickle war started in earnest, and continued until breathing became an issue.

The two were cuddled up again, waiting to catch their breaths when there was a loud knock at the door to the apartment. Only one person ever showed up without calling ahead.

"Crap!" Robin exclaimed, quietly. She bolted upright, bringing Alice with her. They stared at each other, eyes wide in horror. Scrambling up off of the couch, each woman went on a hunt for their respective clothing. Alice found hers in a hurry, since Robin had simply dropped each piece on the floor in front of the sofa. Robin's clothes, on the other hand, seemed to have been flung in all directions.

While Alice was getting dressed so quickly, she had to rebutton her blouse twice, Robin had found her shirt, bra, and pants. She could not, however, find her underwear. No matter how hard she looked, she had no idea where they had gone. Deciding that commando was better than making her mother wait outside the door for much longer, Robin figured that if _she_ couldn't find them, neither could her mother.

After another series of knocks, Robin sent Alice into the bedroom to tame her hair, hers being safe in its customary braid. Then, checking herself once more, Robin strode to the foyer and opened the door.

Sure enough, her mother was standing there, holding a big white binder under one arm, other hand raised to knock again. She looked just a little bit annoyed until her daughter opened the door, a smile plastered on her face.

"Mom!" Robin exclaimed, trying not to sound too overtly surprised. "What are you doing here?"

"Hello, Robin, darling." Zelena greeted her daughter, stepping into the apartment and giving the archer a one-armed hug. "I know, I should have called. It's a Friday night, after all, but I didn't want to risk you dodging me… again."

Robin flushed. "Mom, I told you, we weren't dodging you." Robin protested, giving her mother strong hug around the shoulders. Even though Zelena hadn't started showing yet, Robin was acutely aware of the bun in her mother's oven. She was careful with her, even if Zelena insisted that she - and others, namely Regina and Chad - didn't have to be.

"Well, when you asked me to help you plan your wedding - three weeks ago - I thought you'd want _some_ say in things." Zelena replied, stepping back from the embrace and eyeing her daughter from head to toe. "Is everything alright, Robin? You looked a little flushed."

More colour rose to Robin's cheeks. Alice took that moment to enter. She smiled cheerfully at Zelena. "Oh! Hello, Zelena. How are you? What brings you by?"

"Alice, dear!" Zelena came forward and hugged the blonde as well. "So good to see you." She held out the binder. "I was just telling Robin - I came by to talk to you about your wedding. I've gathered some ideas and I just need your input."

After they had told Robin's mother about being overwhelmed by planning the wedding, Zelena had practically jumped when asked to help. After all, as Alice had put it, her own wedding to Chad had been so beautiful, they knew that she had good taste and they could trust her not to go too overboard. They requested only tasteful and slightly humble. They trusted Zelena to provide elegance on top of that, without being too over the top.

Alice smiled, though Robin could see a little bit of that panic from before return to her eyes. She reached out and took her fiancée's hand, twining their fingers and squeezing a little in reassurance. Alice relaxed.

"Oh, uh, sure, Mom. That sounds great. Come on in to the living room." Zelena nodded and led the way. For a moment, Robin was a little bit concerned about the mess she and Alice had left - throw pillows thrown around the room, the blanket Alice had been curled under on the floor - and was quite shocked when she entered and saw that everything was right in its place. Alice must've done that before she'd come to greet Zelena. Robin made a mental note to thank her later.

As they walked from the open dining area into the living area, Zelena paused and looked back at Robin and Alice. "I love what you've done with this place, dears." She said, her voice as bland as can be, but her daughter could have sworn she'd seen just a little smirk on her mother's lips.

What on Earth could she be smirking about? "Uh, thanks, Mom. It's mostly Alice's doing - I'm terrible at decorations."

They all sat on the sofa - Zelena in the middle, much to Robin and Alice's disappointment - and the formerly wicked witch set the binder on her lap.

"Robin, darling, do you have anything to drink?" She asked, suddenly. "I'm absolutely parched."

"Will tea do?" Alice asked, jumping up, "I can put the kettle on. Robin, will you give me a hand?"

"Tea sounds lovely, dear," Zelena smiled at her future daughter-in-law, "thank you."

Robin followed Alice into the kitchen, which was cut off from the other part of the apartment by a wall. While Alice got the kettle and filled it with water, putting it on the stove to heat, Robin helped by getting out the gorgeous tea service that Killian had given them as a housewarming gift. She poured the milk into the serving dish, made sure there was sugar in the bowl, then got out the fresh honey that Alice loved so much. She added three cups and saucers to the tray and then stood in front of the open cupboard and marvelled at just how much tea they had. Alice, came to stand behind her, looking over her shoulder, searching the selection as well.

"Are you okay with this?" Robin asked, quietly.

Alice gave a little shrug. "It's got to be done and at least all we have to do is pick our favourite, right? I can do that."

Robin's smile was soft as she reached behind her to pull the blonde into her arms, nuzzling her neck. "Promise me, if you feel panicky, you'll give me some kind of signal? I'll do whatever I can to help."

Alice's own arms tightened around her archer's waist as she leaned her own face into Robin's shoulder. "I will. I promise. No more running away."

"Good. Now, what kind of tea should we have? Something without caffeine, for Mom's sake, right?"

Alice agreed, then she turned around, still in the circle of Robin's arms and helped her choose the perfect tea for planning their wedding.

"Oh, this is such a lovely tea set," Zelena remarked when they had come back into the living room. Robin carried the laden metal tray while Alice rushed forward to clear a space big enough for it on their coffee table. "Alice, did your father ever tell you where he got it? I'd love something similar."

The tea set was pretty cute. It came with a sea-blue teapot that was covered in various nautical symbols, four matching cups, saucers, a covered bowl for sugar, a small pitcher for cream or milk, and an even smaller one for honey. It was obvious that the set was old and had been well cared for by whoever had owned it previously. Alice had been absolutely delighted to receive it.

While Alice carefully poured the tea into each cup, she replied, "He said he got it on one of his trips up the coast in the _Jolly Roger_. Just a little, barely there, town. He didn't get the name."

"Too bad." Zelena put two spoonfuls of sugar into her cup, added some milk, took a sip and sighed. "Lovely. Thank you, ladies."

Robin, who wasn't as big of a fan of tea as her mother would have liked, had to admit that the 'Razzleberry Cherry' fruit flavoured tea was pretty good - if she added enough sugar. Alice loved honey in her tea - no matter the flavour - with milk.

After a few minutes of silence while they enjoyed their drinks, Zelena set her cup and saucer down on the metal tray, and got down to business.

The binder, it seemed was full of pictures, just waiting to be voted on by the lucky couple. First were the outdoor venues. "I only chose those places perfect for a smaller ceremony. I know your guest list isn't going to be all that long. That's just fine, loves. Don't worry."

Once they had chosen a nice, sandy beach - the only stretch of sand along the entire coast of the U. R. - they moved on to their indoor choices - should the weather choose to be uncooperative. Next came their vote on wedding colours and then whether or not to have a themed wedding. Since they were already True Loves, a theme didn't seem necessary, but the discussion on colours got a little bit heated.

"Why _yellow_?" Robin wanted to know.

"Because it's a _happy_ colour!" Alice insisted.

Their main colours had already been chosen - green for Robin's favourite and blue for Alice's. Alice would have chosen green - like Robin's eyes, because she loved them so - but Robin got there, first. Robin had thought about sky-blue - the way that Alice's eyes always looked like a cloudless summer sky - but she already knew blue was the adventurer's favourite colour. They'd also chose purple together, since both women loved hyacinth flowers and wanted them as part of the bouquet. Then, Zelena had suggested an accent colour, and that's when the argument began.

"So is red." Robin insisted.

"Red isn't a wedding colour. At least not for anyone who has seen _Game of Thrones_. Which is _everybody_." Alice retorted.

"She has a small point, Robin," Zelena murmured.

"Mom…" Robin's voice was a warning.

"Look, why don't we take a bit of a break and cool down?" The former witch suggested, ignoring the daggered look her daughter threw at her. "I, for one, need to use the bathroom. Your brother or sister just loves to sit on my bladder." Although she had been trying for levity, her comment was met with simmering silence. So, she got up and made her way to the bathroom, leaving the two women alone.

After a few moments of the interminable silence, Alice let out a heavy sigh. "I'm sorry, Robin. Red is a lovely colour."

Robin leaned back on the sofa, closing her eyes. "So is yellow. I'm sorry, too." She reached out her hand and Alice immediately took it. She tugged until Robin budged and slid across the cushions between them. When she did, Alice snuggled into her side with a more contented sigh. Robin felt better, too.

The silence that Zelena returned to was altogether different than what she'd left. She took one look at her daughter and fiancée and smiled. Then she sat down beside Robin and angled so Alice could see as well. "I had an idea while I was in the bathroom." She stated and then went on when both girls nodded. "Since you already have purple and blue _and_ green as your colours, why not choose one to be the accent?"

"Purple." "Purple." They said together. They grinned at each other. Robin raised her arm and slid it across Alice's shoulders. The blonde settled easily there.

Zelena made the notes in the binder. As she turned to the next page, however, a strange tone began to emanate from the direction of Alice's art studio. Alice sat up straight, jumped to her feet, and rushed away. It took Robin a few more seconds to parse out what had just happened.

"Oh no!" She groaned.

"Robin, what is it?" Zelena asked, concerned at the look of fear on her daughter's face.

Robin held up her finger in a 'one-minute' gesture, got up and met Alice as she emerged from the art studio holding her phone. Her lips moved as she read the message on the screen, something Robin knew she only did when she wanted to make sure she understood what she was reading.

"Is it bad?" Robin asked, stepping up beside her. She didn't read the message. She didn't want to know what had turned her fiancée that specific shade of pale.

"Bad enough, I think." Alice told her. She looked up from her phone with big blue eyes, filled with fear. "They need me."

Robin sighed. Alice had only agreed to be a sort of on-call witch when something was in town that was too much for the sheriff, Emma Swan, or Regina to deal with. They were both very powerful witches and between them had stopped many a foe. They had promised to only call on Alice if it was absolutely necessary. Looks like that time was now.

Robin pulled Alice into a long, hard hug, and then pulled back far enough to capture her lips for a moment. "Go. Be safe. Come back." She said, when they parted. "I love you."

Looking a little dazed, Alice smiled slightly and touched her lower lip with the tip of her tongue. She shook her head once and her face grew serious. "I will. I love you, Nobin." The blond leaned in for one more quick kiss, then stepped away and disappeared in a flurry of silver/white smoke.

Robin turned back to her mother, who was still seated on the couch, but had moved closer to the edge. Her head was tilted and her eyes were narrowed.

Robin sighed. She walked back over and sat next to her mother. She put her elbows on her knees and then leaned her face into her open hands. Seeing her daughter in distress made Zelena forget why she had been angry a moment before. She put an arm around Robin and pulled her in close to her side, murmuring quiet nonsense while the usually composed archer got herself under control.

She was terrified. Scared that whatever it was would be too much for even three fully trained witches. She was worried about Alice, of course, but also about her aunt and Emma. They were two of the four most powerful women in all the U. R., and whatever the thing was causing trouble it was too much for them. Considering that Emma was also The Saviour - destined to fight monsters and save people - that was pretty damn bad. Alice's magic was strong - built on love and trust, and she was one of the bravest people that Robin had ever met.

Robin took several deep breaths.

Alice would be fine. She'd be home before they knew it.

Slowly, the young woman sat up and looked at her mother. "It's the witch-signal." She explained.

"The what?"

"You know, like Batman has the 'Bat-signal'? Only for witches." Robin replied, trying to sound calm.

Zelena looked confused for a moment and then nodded. Her face took on a perplexed look and she took her own phone out of its customary place in her pants pocket. She turned it on and frowned at the screen. "They didn't call _me_." She sounded hurt by that.

"Of course not, Mom." Robin told her.

"What does _that_ mean?" Zelena demanded.

"Mom," Robin put up her hands in a calming gesture, "be reasonable. You're pregnant."

"Well, yes, I am, thank you for pointing that out," came the formerly wicked witch's snide response. "But I am _not_ an invalid, damn it! They _should_ have called me, not Alice. I have more experience than she does."

"Mom," Robin said again, her voice turning soft and conciliatory. "Mom, they know you aren't an invalid. It's just… if you got hurt or if, god forbid, anything happened to the baby, I don't think Aunt Regina or Emma would be able to forgive themselves."

"And what about Alice?" Her mother demanded, obviously still upset.

"Alice is… She strong, Mom, and she can think on her feet. She slayed the Jabberwock when she was barely 18, with just a sword. She's clever and she can help." Robin sighed heavily again and leaned back on the couch, closing her eyes.

Zelena watched her daughter and was silent. Finally, she asked, "Would you like me to go?"

Robin's eyes flew open. Since she was looking upward, she had a really good view of her underwear - purple with lace around the edges - hanging off of a blade of the stationary ceiling fan. How in the hell had they gotten up there? Had her mother seen them?

"Robin?"

"Sorry, Mom. No, don't leave, please." The archer turned her gaze on her mother and gave her most pleading expression.

Zelena laughed a little. "Alright. But, if we are going to wait for Alice to get back, we won't be idle. Why don't you order something from that new Chinese place down the street? We're," she rubbed her belly, which had just the smallest bump, "craving something spicy."

That made Robin actually chuckle. "Already with the cravings? Okay, yeah, let's get something to eat. Want to watch a movie or something?"

"Sure. We haven't had any mother-daughter bonding time in a while."

Robin smiled. "I'm glad you're here, Mom." She really was. If she had to wait for Alice to come back all by herself, she'd probably wear a hole in the carpet by pacing. It was what she did when she was really nervous.

"So am I." Zelena sounded sincere when she said it.  
 ************  
************  
Alice returned about halfway through the movie - _Dragonheart_ , because it was one of Robin's favourites and because Zelena loved the voice of the dragon. She _poof_ ed in, but not into the living room. Instead, suddenly, Robin heard the voice of her fiancée from kitchen.

"I'm back!" Alice called loudly, then quickly followed up with, "No, don't move! I need a shower! Don't mind the mess, I'll clean it up when I'm done, promise!"

Robin had jumped to her feet at the sound of her lover's voice, but stopped when told to. She waited until she heard the water turn on in the main bathroom before going to see just what Alice needed to clean up.

She smelled it before she saw it. It wasn't a truly terrible smell, but it wasn't great, either. She found the culprit in the form of several large glops of… _something_ yellow on the tile in the kitchen. Whatever it was looked sort of like partially cooked egg yolk, after it's sat out for a while. Suddenly intensely curious, Robin crouched down, staring at a particularly large blob. Maybe Alice was right about the colour yellow… She studied it as best she could from a distance, before reaching out to see what it felt like.

"Oh, for heaven's sake, Robin, don't _touch_ it." Zelena suddenly snapped from behind her. Robin startled and nearly fell over - into the glop of whatever. Her mother grabbed her shoulder and pulled her back. She fell on her ass and glared up at her mom.

"You're nearly thirty years old, Robin Cora Mills. You'd think you'd know better than to touch a strange substance." Zelena towered over her daughter, hands on hips, a scowl on her face. Three names. She'd been three named. Wow, that hadn't happened in forever.

Robin shook her head, feeling a little dazed. She got slowly to her feet, eyes focussing back on the yellow blobs. Was it her imagination or had it started to smell better - like hot pretzels and cheese at the fair? Robin adored the fair and couldn't wait for this year's exhibition. It would be Alice's first Storybrooke Faire. She just knew her fiancée - hopefully, by then, wife - would love it as much as she did.

A moment later and the yellow spots were enveloped in a green smoke and disappeared. The smell of warm salty dough and fake cheese slowly faded.

"Mom? What did you do?"

"Disposed of it, whatever it was. It was clearly having an effect on you."

"And it smells horrible." Alice said, walking up behind Robin and leaning against her. "Thank you for that, Zelena."

"That was a quick shower," Robin commented. She felt Alice stiffen behind her. "What?"

Zelena took her daughter's chin between her thumb and forefinger and lifted it, peering into Robin's eyes. "Looks like it had some kind of hallucinatory effect or something." She muttered. "What was it?"

Robin pulled away from her mother with a frown. "What are you talking about, Mom?" She shook her head again. It felt like she was coming down from some kind of drug or something.

"Robin, the only reason I'm standing here is because you went into the kitchen and you were gone for nearly 20 minutes. I came to see if I could help and found you just about to touch whatever that stuff was." Zelena told her.

"What?" The archer blinked. Twenty minutes? Seriously? "What the hell?"

"Yes, very good questions," Zelena snarked, but Robin knew it was worry that made her mother's tone sharp. "Alice, what was _that_?"

Now standing beside Robin and looking her over from head to foot, to make sure nothing was wrong, Alice replied, "Honestly? I couldn't pronounce it if I tried. Some sort of beetle thing, from Agrabah."

Zelena closed her eyes and seemed to be thinking deeply. When she opened them, she obviously had come up with nothing. She shrugged. "I'll ask Regina or Emma, tomorrow. In the meantime, welcome back, Alice."

Robin seconded that. "Yeah. I was worried."

Alice gave her a wry smirk and asked, "Worried enough for Chinese?"

"That was my doing, actually," Zelena admitted. Nearly all of the counter space in the small kitchen was covered by various different food boxes. It turned out, her mother hadn't only wanted something spicy. "If you like, there's some raspberry cheesecake in your fridge."

Alice laughed. "Thanks. I'm _starving_."

Suddenly, Robin was too. She'd put a plate together when the food had arrived earlier, but hadn't done more than pick at it, her stomach in knots with her fears over Alice's safe return. She and her mother went back to the living room and Robin collected her plate, intent on refilling it. She glanced at her mother. "You want more?"

Zelena's cheerful expression and shake of her head was all Robin needed to see before she disappeared back into the kitchen.

Once there, she made a clear spot and set her plate down. Alice grinned at her and they came together in tight embrace. Robin buried her face in Alice's neck, not caring that her hair was still damp. Alice stroked her hair.

"I'm okay, love. I'm right here."

Robin held on tightly. She sighed and inhaled the familiar scent of her lover. "Thank god." Pulling back just enough, her lips moved along Alice's neck and followed her jawline, before arriving at her lips. Soft and warm and tasting a little bit like sweet and sour sauce, Robin kissed Alice for all she was worth. The blonde held her tightly, giving as much as she got, until they both needed to breathe.

"I have never been so afraid, not even in the Wish Realm. I love you, so much." Robin whispered.

"I'm sorry. I love you, with everything that I am." Alice replied, firmly, her radiant smile all for Robin. "Emma and Regina said that probably won't happen again, though. It was just a little bigger than they had thought when the first call came in."

"I'm just glad you're okay."

"I am." Alice pulled farther away and her stomach growled, breaking the moment and making them both laugh.

"Better get you fed before you get all hangry," Robin let her go and they filled their plates with food.

"I do _not_ get hangry? I might get a little grumpy if I haven't eaten, but I'm not that bad." Alice protested.

"Do so," Robin argued. The playful bickering continued until they were back in the living room with Zelena, who Robin had almost forgotten was there. The movie was turned off and they resumed wedding plans while they ate.

After Zelena had finally left, the two women climbed into bed. They didn't put on night clothes, opting for the familiar and soothing sensation of being close to each other, skin on skin, after the earlier worry. They had made a lot of progress tonight, and with Zelena's help, had gotten most of the big details planned out. All they really had to do now was make a list of invitees, and, the most daunting task of all - finding the perfect dress. Oh, and a date, they needed to pick a date. But those could wait for another day.

 _ **Author's Note**_ : Hi! Sorry for taking so long on this one. RL can sometimes be super birchy. Anyway, hope you all like it! Next chapter, the plot thickens. Cheers!


	5. Chapter 5

_**Disclaimer**_ : I do not own Once Upon a Time or any of the characters. I'm new to this particular fandom – CuriousArcher, MadArcher, whatever you want to call it. I mean, how hard was it to not love Robin and Alice? They're totally adorable! Thanks, OUaT!

 **The Details**

 _Like my mothers, I am not one for overly long speeches. Robin, I am honoured to have been your Best Man. I missed out on you growing up, but when you and your mom came to the New Enchanted Forest, I was so surprised. Not only had you grown up, but you took after your dad, and not your mom - or mine. You are brave, honest, kind, and probably the best shot with a bow I've ever known. You may not have realised it, but you fit right in to the rebel camp and we were lucky to have you._

 _Alice, I wasn't sure if I should trust you after our first meeting. Yeah, that one. But you proved yourself more than once since then. Your father is my very best friend and I couldn't be happier to see our two families come together. I wish nothing but the very best for you and Robin. To Robin and Alice! - Henry Mills, Best Man_

Plans for the wedding were going well. After the first night, Zelena had returned to their apartment several times to finalise details. They'd confirmed flowers, some decorations, had even managed to come up with a final guest list, and most importantly, a date. It didn't matter that nearly everyone in Storybrooke knew who Robin and Alice were, they had decided that only their closest friends and family would be invited. Alice had even turned out a rather pretty handwritten invitation - she had much better handwriting than either Zelena or Robin - that Zelena took and had copies made of. Alice had only voiced one problem with the guest list, privately, to Robin.

" _I just wish that Rumple were here," she confessed as they put the invitations into envelopes at their tiny kitchen table. "After all, it's because of him that I'm getting the chance at this kind of life."_

 _Robin stopped what she was doing. She looked down at the invitation in her hand. It really was beautiful. One side held a picture of a three tiered green and blue wedding cake with two little brides atop it. The words_ _ **Save the Date**_ _were scrawled beneath the picture in Alice's gorgeous looping calligraphic script. On the other side, in the same style, was raised silver lettering stating their names, and the date that they had chosen, the location, and a request to RSVP. It was a simple invite, which suited them both._

 _The archer smiled at her would-be bride and reached across the table to take Alice's hand. The blonde looked at her, blue eyes shiny with unshed tears. "I miss him, sometimes," she admitted, sniffling._

 _Robin rubbed gentle circles on the back of the hand she held. "I know you do. He was your friend."_

 _Alice nodded. "He was. He was more than that, too." She shook her head. "I know, most people only saw him as the Dark One, but he was more than that. Or, he tried to be, at least. I just… I wish he could be there, you know."_

 _Robin kept the circles going on Alice's hand as she pondered what, if anything, she could do for her love. Then, a thought came to her. "I have an idea," she said, slowly, "why don't you send an invite to Gideon?"_

" _Gideon? Rumple's son?"_

" _Yeah. I mean, I know you two never met, but you could write a short letter, introduce yourself, and tell him that you'd like him to come to our wedding. He might remember me - technically, we're the same age, or we would be." Robin suggested._

 _Alice's face brightened. She gave Robin's hand a quick squeeze, then darted from the table. She returned a few minutes later with a small notepad of rainbow stationary and a pen. After staring at the paper in thought for a few minutes, she started to write. When she was done, she slid the notepad across the table for Robin to look at. "What do you think?"_

 _Robin read the letter._

Dear Gideon,

I hope this letter finds you well. We've never met, but my name is Alice Jones, and I had the great pleasure of knowing your father. I considered him one of my very best friends. As you've probably guessed, I'm getting married soon. I would like to extend an invitation to you, to attend. Were your father here, I believe he would have introduced us sooner or later, and I would like the chance to meet you. I don't believe that many other people knew your father as we had the chance to.

Sincerely,

Alice

 _The archer smiled. "I like it." She slid the letter back to Alice._

" _Do you think he'll come?"_

" _I don't know, but it won't hurt to try, will it?" She asked._

" _I suppose not. How will I get it to him? Rumple said he was attending Elphame Academy. I don't even know where that is." Alice wondered as she delicately removed the letter from the notepad, folded it, and placed it in an envelope with an invitation, before sealing it with a dollop of purple wax and a silver stamp._

 _The stamps emblem was another of her own designs - an arrow where the head was shaped like a heart and the fletching was a crescent moon. When Robin has asked Alice about the moon, the artist had shrugged. Since Robin liked the design and it was made specifically for their wedding, she let it go._

" _Sorry, love, I don't know that, either. But I bet Aunt Regina does. She's coming to the school on Wednesday to give a speech, and we're supposed to have lunch together. Why don't I take it to her and see?" Robin replied._

 _Alice had awarded that idea with another one of her dazzling smiles._

Today, a courier from the Queen's Court had arrived and delivered two letters. One was addressed to Robin and Alice in Regina's familiar, tidy scrawl. The other was for Alice only, written in a strong masculine hand. Alice had been too nervous to open it, though, opting to wait until Robin got home from work.

As soon as the archer came through the door, she pounced.

"Robin!"

"Hey!" Robin greeted her back, taking off her shoes and hanging her work bag up on a hook in the wall. She reached out for Alice and the blonde made sure to welcome her fiancée home properly. By the time the kiss ended, they were both breathing harder. "Not that I'm complaining, but that just put the 'hell' in 'hello'. Wow."

It amazed Alice that even after being together for nearly a decade, their kisses hadn't lost an ounce of passion. She grinned in response to the archer's comment. Then she grabbed her hand and dragged her into the tiny dining area where the two envelopes lay on the table.

"Look what came today." She said, practically bursting with excitement and nervous energy.

Robin picked the items up and read them. "This one's from Aunt Regina - I'd know her handwriting anywhere." She said of the envelope addressed to the both of them.

"Well, open it!" Alice insisted. "I waited for you, so we could do it, together."

"Okay, okay!" Robin said, laughing at her fiancée's enthusiasm. Helpfully, Alice had laid their letter opener next to the envelopes, so the archer used it to slice open the missive from her aunt. Inside the pretty lavender paper was a folded piece of thick parchment paper. "Dearest Robin and Alice," the archer read aloud, "Of course I'm coming to your wedding! And yes, of course, I would love to perform the ceremony. Let me know when you want to sit down and discuss everything. Love, Aunt Regina."

Alice squealed. "She said yes!"

When Zelena had first brought up the question of who they wanted to officiate the ceremony, it hadn't been a question for either of them. Sure, Archie was great, and he'd married a lot of couples in Storybrooke over the decades, but both Robin and Alice had picked Regina. This delighted Zelena, of course, and she assured them both that even though, as Queen, Regina had a busy schedule, there was no way she'd say no.

Tears of happiness pricked at Robin's eyes. She blinked them away. "She said yes." She repeated. A grin split her face and she reached out to hug her fiancée. She couldn't wait to tell her mother.

Not releasing Alice, Robin reached for the second letter. When she saw that it was addressed only to Alice, she paused. "Why didn't you open this? It's for you."

The blonde looked away, embarrassed. "I think... I think it's from Gideon. I… What if he said no?"

Robin leaned in and kissed Alice's forehead. She understood. So, she stepped away from the woman she loved, used the opener again, and extracted another heavy piece of parchment. She unfolded it and started to read aloud once again.

" _Alice,_

 _While we have never met, my father told me about you through the letters he wrote before his mind was clouded. He told me who you were and what he did - and he told me of the promise you made. I could tell that, even though he didn't say it, my father thought of you as the daughter he never had. I've always wanted a sister. It would be my honour to attend your nuptials, thank you._

 _There is one thing, though I have been warned against asking this by someone with a great deal of wisdom. I know that you are probably very busy with planning your wedding, but do you think we might find some time to speak, privately, while I'm in Storybrooke? You were with my father before he died and I… I think that it might be nice to talk to someone who didn't see him as a monster at one time or another._

 _Sincerely,_

 _Gideon Gold_."

Robin looked at Alice who had gone quiet. "Alice? Are you okay?"

She nodded very slowly. "I had no idea."

"About what?"

"That he thought of me that way." The blonde said. "Like a daughter? He never… I was his friend and I did what I could for him. Do you think it's true?"

Robin considered that. She hadn't known Rumplestiltskin all that well. She'd heard stories about him from her mother and Regina, but that was all they were. She knew that he had taught her aunt how to use her magic and that her mother had been very jealous of that - along with everything else in her sister's life. She and Rumple hadn't exactly made up, but they tolerated each other. Robin hadn't met the man until she'd been living in the Forest with her mother and had started seeing Alice. When she did see him, it was always from a distance, and he never spoke a word to her.

"I remember that your dad told me that Rumple gave him a gift before the curse - something so that you two would remember who you were to each other. I think that was a big deal and not something he would have done for just anyone." Robin finally told her. She set the letter and envelope down on the table and took Alice's hands in hers. "You were special to him, Alice. Special enough that he wanted to protect you. Special enough that he wouldn't let you sacrifice yourself for him. He loved you - in his own way - as much as he could."

Tears welled in Alice's eyes. "How did I not know? How did I miss it?"

"Sometimes, we don't see what's right in front of us. It's part of being human. I mean, it took me forever to tell you that I was in love with you, because I was afraid you wouldn't feel the same way, when all along, you did, and I just didn't see it." Robin reasoned with her. She squeezed Alice's hands. "Would you have treated him any differently if you'd known?"

"Of course not." The blonde sniffed and blinked away the tears. "It just surprises me, that's all." She sniffled again. "Do you think I should meet with Gideon?"

"Only if you want to. He seems nice enough, and he did agree to come. Why don't you write him another letter?" Robin suggested. "Maybe a get to know you kind of thing? Thank him for agreeing to come?"

Alice considered that. "Okay. If I do, will you read it before I send it? You know how I can be with words."

The archer chuckled. Alice was a whiz with words, though she didn't believe it. She let go of her fiancée's hands and raised hers to cup Alice's cheeks. "I think that you have a natural way with words. Yes, I'll read it, if you want me to." She leaned in and kissed Alice's lips gently. "Now, I'm going to get changed, okay?"

Alice smiled. "Okay."  
 **************

**********  
Nearly everyone on their guest list had RSVP'd and confirmed that they were coming. A couple had declined, but only because they had plans for that time that couldn't be broken. They sent their regrets and, to Robin's surprise, a check. She'd nearly forgotten that a wedding usually involved gifts.

She and Alice had chosen who would be in the wedding party. For Alice, of course, her father would be walking her down the aisle and be her Best Man. Zelena was Robin's Matron of Honour. Robin's cousin, Henry, had declared himself her Best Man, so Alice chose Henry's wife, Ella as her Maid of Honour, so they could walk together.

Lucy, Henry and Ella's daughter, wanted to be in the wedding, but she was a little bit too old to be a flower girl, so the biggest issue they faced was coming up with someone to walk with her down the aisle. Lucy, like her father at that age, had grown nearly a foot taller in the year that Alice and Robin had been travelling, so she looked a little older than her actual age of 12 years old. Neither Alice or Robin knew any other people even close to that age, though. It was finally decided that she would 'escort' little Neal Nolan, who was going to be their ring bearer. Lucy was just thrilled to be able to wear a fancy dress and stand next to her father, whom she idolized.

Robin, Alice, Zelena, and Rogers had gone and checked out the beach they had chosen for the ceremony and found that it needed some clean-up. Garbage had washed up from the ocean, as well as the usual debris of driftwood, water plants, and the occasional dead fish. Zelena promised the two young women that she would make sure the beach was clean for the big day. She was all smiles these days, thanks in part to her pregnancy and by the opening of her and Chad's new gym. Storybrooke had never had a real gym before, so it was plenty popular, and it brought in people from other parts of the U. R. as well.

Robin had to admit that it was a neat place. It was the only indoor/outdoor gym she had ever been to. It was also the first gym she'd been to that held classes in wrestling, archery, fencing and fighting with other types of swords, and a had an outdoor track as well as one inside. There was also a pool, hot tub, a couple of saunas, and even some tanning beds. Of course, there were all the normal parts of a gym - treadmills, bicycles, weights, and all sorts of weight machines. Zelena had a small studio indoors where she taught her cycling class and Chad, surprisingly, knew Tai Chi and had classes several times per week. The best part was that it always seemed to be full of people, so it was going really well and Robin was happy for her mother. In terrible play on words, the gym was called _Wickedly Fit_. Zelena swore it was Chad's idea.

No matter how busy she was at work, though, Zelena never stopped having time to spend helping Alice and Robin plan their wedding. She'd been so pleased that so many people were coming that she'd even tried to create a seating chart. However, that plan had been vetoed since the people who were coming were all close friends and family and they all got along… for the most part.

"So long as Emma and Regina are there, people _should_ behave themselves." Alice said, confidently. She and the two other witches were growing closer, having worked together on several more magical emergencies. Robin hadn't said anything, but she was starting to think that whoever was behind all the attacks had something more nefarious in mind, instead of just pranking the Saviour and the Queen. It felt like a test to Robin, but that could have been because all she heard about from her students lately was how they were all afraid to take their final tests for the year. They actually seemed to be enjoying whatever she threw at them in class as a way to get their minds off of their study woes.

The ending of the school year for the start of summer was looming and so was the date they'd set for the wedding. Robin was almost finding it hard to balance everything and found herself falling asleep during some of the planning sessions with her mother. More than once, Alice had simply let her sleep and used magic to put her to bed. It made Robin feel bad, which she said, but her lovely fiancée had simply smiled, kissed her, and said, "I love you."

Since school was coming to a close, it meant that the final archery tournament was to be held. Storybrooke High was to be the host and Queen Regina was planning to attend. The way the tournament worked, each competing team chose their top three archers and they each completed in a different event. This year, there were five teams competing - Storybrooke, Agrabah, The Enchanted Forest, Oz, and Dun Broch. Each qualifying contestant had to be between the ages of 15 and 18, and each had to represent their Realm, they couldn't compete for another team.

Robin was really excited. She had three very strong kids on her team and she was sure that they would make her and the rest of Storybrooke proud. Connor was a senior who had taken to the bow like a fish to water - just as Robin had. It was too bad it was his last year in school and the only tournament he'd get to compete in. Sasha was the youngest contestant, at just barely 15 years old. She was also the shortest person on Robin's team, something that did not bother the girl in the slightest. Sasha was sassy, a little crude, and she could hit the mark every time she shot, even if she was moving while she did. Jax was 17 and seemed to have been made for sports of all kinds. Robin knew he played all year round - football, basketball, soccer, softball, and archery. He liked to say that he wasn't much in the brains department, but that was okay, so long as he could play.

The day of the tournament was supposed to be sunny and warm, and only a little bit windy. Robin had asked Alice to make her something to help her sleep the night before, because her nerves were strung tighter than her bow strings. Not only had Alice made her something to help her sleep, she'd also given Robin a full body massage, after having her soak in a hot bath. By the time she lay down to sleep that night, the archer had to admit that she felt much better.

"Next time, I get to pamper you," she mumbled as the sweet blonde pulled the blankets up around them and curled up against Robin's back, her arm slung comfortably around her lover's waist.

"Next time," Alice promised her, softly. She gave one of Robin's shoulders a quick caress of her lips. "Shh, love, get some rest." Robin did as she was told.

The next morning, Robin felt well rested for the first time in what felt like ages. Alice was a warm, comforting presence at her back. She felt as though life could not get any better. Slipping quietly out of bed, so as to not wake Alice, Robin showered quickly and dressed in the team 'uniform" - as blue Storybrooke High shirt with tight short sleeves, and a pair of khaki slacks. She put on her lucky boots - the ones she'd been wearing as Margot, when she saved Tilly from being hit by a speeding car. Breakfast was sausage, potatoes, and eggs that woke Alice from her slumber and brought her out to the kitchen like one of those cartoons where the character practically floats along following something that smelled good. Robin had known this would happen and had made enough for them both, earning her a kiss and Alice's sunny smile.

"You're coming, today, right?" Robin confirmed as she rinsed her plate and put it in the dishwasher, then started on the pan she'd used to cook in.

"Of course, I am," Alice replied, sounding a little affronted that Robin would even have to ask such a thing.

"Sorry, sweetheart, I'm just nervous. It's my first time at one of these things. They didn't have archery tournaments when I went to school here." Robin apologised, taking the blonde's empty plate from her and adding it to hers in the dishwasher.

"I know. Thanks, love. Robin, your team is going to do so great! I just know it. Don't be nervous, just have fun doing something you love." Alice replied. "Then later, maybe you can _do_ something you _love_ …" She wiggled her eyebrows suggestively and Robin snorted out a laugh. She knew Alice was teasing, but the idea had some merit.

A few minutes later, Robin had collected her own bow and quiver and was ready to go. Alice walked her to the front door.

"It starts at 11:00, so be there any time before to get a good seat, okay?" Robin reminded Alice as she leaned in for a kiss. The blonde just rolled her eyes and press her lips to her lover's.

"I'll be there." She promised. "Good luck."

"Meet me in my office afterward, okay? Aunt Regina will be there, too."

"Yes, love." Alice intoned with a playful huff. "Now go, or you're going to be late." ****

 ************  
************  
Robin was ecstatic!

Her team had done extremely well today. Connor had gotten third place in stationary shooting, thanks to a gust of wind that had knocked his final arrow off its course. Sasha had nearly placed, until her horse had stumbled and thrown her, causing her shot to miss her target, but hit her opponent's. Jax had been the star of the show! He'd tied for second with one of the kids from Dun Broch, which made the crowd go crazy. Considering that this was the first tournament of this kind that they had all been part of, Robin was so proud of them. She told them so, even though Sasha and Connor looked pretty dejected at the end.

"Listen guys, I just want to say how proud I am of all of you. You all did amazing work! Honestly, I've never been prouder. Congratulations!" They'd all listened, but both Sasha and Connor hadn't looked like they believed her. She'd have to figure out a way to change that. However, instead of more words, she'd let them go to the locker rooms to change and had gone to her office to wait for Alice and her aunt, who would be joining her before they all went to Granny's to celebrate.

Strangely, her office phone was ringing when she got there, but stopped just as she picked up. She checked the caller ID and found an unknown number. Probably just a wrong number, she decided. She propped her butt up on her desk and waited for either Regina or Alice to join her.

Instead, the first person to come to her office was Jax. He'd changed into a pair of black and white basketball shorts and a black t-shirt with Batman logo on it. He had his hands in his pockets and he looked down, scuffing his shoes on the floor.

"Hey, Jax, what's up?" She asked.

"Hey, Coach Mills." He wouldn't look up at her. "Look, I just wanted to say I'm sorry."

"Sorry? What for?" She asked, gently.

"I just… Well, maybe I coulda' done better today. I don't know."

"Jax." Robin slid off of her desk and walked over to him. She put a hand on his shoulder. "Listen to me. How many sports do you play? All of them? And you are excellent in each and every one. It's okay to not be the best at something. I mean, come on, it was your _first_ tournament. Second place is damn good."

Jax looked at her and he gave her a half-smile. "I guess that's true."

"See? We did great this year! Maybe next year, you can come back and do even better." Robin squeezed his shoulder.

He gave a little chuckle. He had a nice laugh - it went with the rest of him. Sandy blonde hair, big grey eyes, skin tanned from being outside so much, muscular build - Robin knew that he was pretty popular, too. He could have been a big jerk, with so much testosterone at his disposal, but he wasn't. "Thanks, Coach. But my folks are moving this summer. I won't be at SHS next year."

She shook her head, surprised at the news and a little sad. "Don't worry about it. Just do your best at whatever school you go to. And send me an update. I'll hang it up in my office." Robin gestured to her mostly bare corkboard wall above her desk. "Deal?"

He grinned. "Deal." She gave his shoulder another squeeze before letting go. He turned to leave just as Regina entered her office. She was dressed as impeccably as always in a charcoal pantsuit over a red silk blouse. Her boots were so shiny Robin could practically see herself in them. Her make-up was perfect and not a hair was out of place. Robin wondered if that was magic or just her aunt's hair. Her own hair, which had been perfectly braided this morning, needed to be taken out and rebraided. Robin was waiting for Alice, since her fiancée loved playing with her hair so much.

Jax saw Regina, his eyes bugged out, and he bowed low. "Your Majesty." He said, his voice rising a little in his surprise. As he rose from his bow, he turned and hurried from the room.

Regina very carefully did not roll her eyes at the boy's retreating form. When she looked back at her niece, she asked, "Is that one of the students who placed today?"

"Jax Morganson." Robin confirmed with a smile as she came forward to give her aunt a hug. "He was feeling a little upset with himself for not placing higher. I gave him some advice. I hope he takes it to heart."

Regina looked thoughtful for a moment. "Do you think he'd react well to a letter from the Queen? Something encouraging?"

Robin's smile brightened. "I just bet he would. In fact, all three of those kids would. Is that doable?"

Regina's smile was wide. "I think I can set aside enough time for three letters to some very promising youngsters. Can you get me their names? I'll make sure that it's done first thing on Monday."

"Absolutely! Thanks, Aunt Regina. They are going to be so excited!" Robin hugged her aunt again and was rewarded with a rich laugh from Regina.

"If I can make them smile even half as much as you just did, then I'd say it was well worth it, Robin."

Robin got a notepad out of her desk and quickly, but carefully, wrote out the names of the three kids. She handed it to Regina who folded it in half and put it in her purse for safekeeping. Robin then looked up at the clock on her wall and frowned. Alice should have been there by now. Sure, the crowd had been big, but not so big she should have taken so long to meet them.

"Is something wrong?" Regina asked.

"I don't know," Robin said, though her instincts had started to scream at her. "Alice was supposed to meet us here. I don't think it should take this long."

Regina smiled ruefully. "You know Alice. She probably got caught up in a conversation with someone and lost track of time. Why don't you call her and find out where she is?"

"Good idea." Robin got out her cell phone and speed-dialled Alice's number. It rang until it went to voicemail. Robin hung up. Worry started to gnaw at her. It wasn't like her fiancée to not pick up a call from her, no matter how caught up she was.

Just then, Robin's phone began to buzz in her hand. Letting out a sigh of relief, she didn't even look at the ID to see who it was. "Alice? Sweetheart, where are you?"

There was silence - the kind that usually means trouble. "Is this Robin Mills?" A voice asked. Robin could tell by the weird buzzing sound that accompanied it that whoever was speaking, they were using something to disguise their voice.

"Who is this?" She demanded.

"Who I am isn't important. What's important is that you hear this." The next thing she heard was an ugly noise that she knew could only be the sound of someone hitting another human being. There were two heavy sounds before a grunt and a third noise. What followed made her blood run cold and her vision dim. It was a small, barely audible little moan. Robin would have known the sound anywhere.

"Alice!" She cried before she could stop herself. She heard several more blows being landed before there was another, half-strangled cry, a single word. Her name.

Robin's legs gave out on her and she sank to her knees on the hard cement of her office floor.

Next, the strange voice was back. "Do I have your attention?"

"Y-Yes."

"Good. We have her, your Alice, and we are going to keep her. She'll be safe as long as you don't do anything stupid." The voice told Robin.

The archer gripped her phone in white knuckles. "What do you want?"

"You'll find out soon enough." The voice told her and disconnected the call.

Robin dropped her phone to the floor, uncaring, unseeing it fall, and turned her head to stare at her aunt, who had gotten to her knees beside the younger woman. "Robin? What's going on?" The Queen asked, gently.

"S-S-Someone _took_ Alice." The memory of that sad little moan and the strangled cry came back to Robin and it took all her will power to make it to the little waste bin next to her desk before she mostly drive-heaved into it so hard it made her see stars.

The last thing she heard before blackness claimed her was her Aunt speaking. "You need to get to the school if you're not already here. Someone has kidnapped Alice."

 _ **Author's Note**_ : Dun, dun, dun! Just a little drama for your enjoyment. Next couple of chapters will deal with find Alice and the aftermath of what was done to her. Thanks to everyone continues to read! Reviews are welcome and adored. Cheers!


	6. Chapter 6

_**Disclaimer**_ : I do not own Once Upon a Time or any of the characters. I'm new to this particular fandom – CuriousArcher, MadArcher, whatever you want to call it. I mean, how hard was it to not love Robin and Alice? They're totally adorable! Thanks, OUaT!

 **The Hiccup**

The authorities on television always say the first 48 hours after a kidnapping or a disappearance are the most critical. Robin remembered that as she and Regina waited in her office for the police (Emma Swan, mostly) and the rest of their family to show up. Even though it took no longer than 15 minutes, it felt like hours.

The first thing Robin did was to check her phone's call list to see if there was a number she could call back. No such luck - it was listed as 'Unknown Caller', just like the call she'd missed on her office phone. She would have bet her mother's farm that the two were related. If she hadn't missed that first call, would whoever it was have hurt Alice like they had?

Emma Swan and Rogers had shown up, fully ready to kick ass and take names. Rogers had wrapped Robin in a hard hug as soon as he saw her.

"I'm sorry," she told him.

"What for, love?" He asked, his voice gentle. Then he shook his head. "This is not your fault, Robin. Don't worry, we'll find her." He let her go and turned to Emma. "I'm going to look for clues, if that's alright?"

Emma nodded once and he left.

There was some discussion on who might've taken Alice, but the problem was that they had so little to go on that Robin was almost positive that they had no idea. Finally, Zelena had taken the lead and asked her daughter if she had anything that belonged to Alice in this office. It just so happened that Robin did.

About a month ago, Alice had bought a pretty scarf that she wore around her waist instead of a belt. Robin had liked it because it was much easier to get off than a belt, and it was a sort of funky rainbow tie-dyed colour. A week ago, Robin had worn it when the school had celebrated a '60's Day' as part of the end of the year festiveness. It had gotten torn so she'd taken it off and put it in her desk to keep it safe. She kept meaning to bring it home…

"Will this work?" She asked her mother, holding it out to her. Zelena took it carefully from her with a small smile.

"Oh yes, I think this will due. Regina?"

The Queen took the scarf from her sister and ran a hand over it. "I'll need a potion and a drop or two of blood from Alice's father." She said, handing it back. Without another word, she disappeared in a puff of purple smoke.

Emma watched her go before she announced, "I'll go find Rogers. I'm sure he'll be willing to donate if he knows it's for Alice." She didn't use magic, just turned and walked out the office door.

When then were alone, Zelena set the scarf on Robin's desk and held out her arms to her daughter. Now that there was nobody else to see, the archer let herself be embraced and slumped against her mom, burying her face in the hooded jacket she wore. It didn't smell like her mom, so Robin assumed it must belong to Chad. It didn't much matter to her. Having her mother holding her and whispering words of comfort was what she needed.

They pulled away after only a minute or two and the older woman smiled at her. "Don't worry, darling. Regina is the best potion maker I know. We'll find Alice before the day is out."

Robin nodded. She believed her mother. "I just don't understand why they took _Alice_ of all people. She's never hurt anyone that I know of. She doesn't have it in her."

"I know, Robin. I didn't want to say it in front of Emma or your aunt, but I think it's because of all of the help Alice has been giving them lately. From what Regina told me, the times they have called her - if it weren't for Alice, they might not have survived." Zelena said. She put and arm across Robin's shoulders in a gesture of comfort.

"Have they figured out who is making them or why?" Robin asked.

"Unfortunately, no." Zelena sighed. Since she wasn't allowed to actually fight the constructs with her sister and the Saviour, she'd demanded to at least be kept in the loop when it came to information. They had agreed, so long as Zelena and her unborn baby stayed away - no matter what.

They stood like that in silence for a few minutes, waiting for someone to get back. It was always sort of amazing to Robin just how well she and her mom got along now. Back when she was a teenager, all she'd ever done was push her mother away. She'd even run away from home and had nearly died. If it hadn't been for Zelena's willingness to die _for_ her, Robin might never have understood just how much her mom really loved her - and how much she loved her mom. That was the same day she'd decided to give up magic altogether. She'd never really liked it and it was better off with someone better suited to it. It was also the day she'd decided to start learning archery, to follow in her father's footsteps.

When Emma finally got back, she had a stony-faced Roger's with her. When he saw Robin, he put his hand in his pocket and pulled something out. Holding out a small plastic bag with something inside, he said, "I found this. I thought you might want to have it back."

It took Robin a moment to realise just what it was. Alice's engagement ring. Her hands started to shake. Alice wouldn't have taken it off willingly. In her head, she heard the sound of someone hitting the woman she loved, heard her cry out. Her voice shook as she asked, "Don't y-you need it for evidence?"

"Normally, yes," Emma told her. "But I made sure the lab techs took some swabs of it and we photographed where it was found. I did the magic scan - found nothing out of the ordinary. We thought you might want to hold onto it, though."

Robin let Rogers drop the baggie into her palm. She closed her hand into a fist around it and managed to get it into her pants pocket on the second try. She left her hand in her pocket, wrapped around the ring, as though it were a link to Alice and if she let it go, she would lose even that small part of her love.

"Thank you." Robin said, sincerely. When they found Alice, she would make sure the ring was back where it belonged, soonest.

Regina appeared in more purple smoke just a few minutes later. She had a small blue bottle with her. As soon as she saw Rogers, she raised an eyebrow at him. He gave her a smile that wasn't really one and held out his hand. Emma came forward to help. While Regina uncorked the little bottle, Emma held Rogers' hand in one of hers and drew a wickedly sharp looking dagger with the other. A single hard jab to the tip of the man's index finger - he didn't flinch or make noise of any kind - and blood welled to the surface. Emma let the hand go and Regina held out the bottle. Without a word, Rogers held the digit over the bottle opening and squeezed the tip between his thumb and middle finger. Two droplets of blood fell into the bottle in rapid succession.

Regina re-corked the bottle while Emma used her magic to heal the tiny injury, ignoring Rogers' eye roll as she did. The Queen shook the bottle, holding the stopper in place, until the blue of the bottle glowed. As soon as the glow died down, she unstopped the bottle once more and peered into it for a minute before closing it again.

"Okay, it needs about three minutes before it's completely ready." Regina told them. "In the meantime, I suggest we figure out who will be joining the hunt and who will stay behind to be a relay."

Everyone started talking at once. A small smile played at Regina's lips, before she schooled her expression into something a little sterner. She held up her hand. That was all. Everyone quieted down.

"I know that you all would like to come. As far as I see it, Robin and Rogers both have the most legitimate claim." Robin relaxed a little at those words. "However, it would be better if one of you stayed behind, with the phone, in case the kidnappers call back." The archer's heart sank. Of course, Rogers would go, he was a law enforcement agent. He had more reason and better training than she did.

"Robin should go," Rogers said before she could even open her mouth.

"I - wait, what?" She couldn't help asking. "But you're the one with police training."

"Aye, I am. I am trained to know just what kind of questions to ask and how to keep whoever it is on the phone. I'm trained on the equipment we have to try to trace any call that comes in." He told her, his voice gentle. "I am more use here than anywhere else."

Robin's eyes stung with grateful tears at his words. She blinked them back. "Thank you."

"Besides, I think Alice would appreciate you riding to her rescue more than me." He gave her a little grin.

"I'll stay as well," Zelena said. "I love Alice, but I don't think she would appreciate me going into unknown danger." She placed a hand over her belly, which had just the slightest of bumps. She looked at Robin. "I'm sorry, darling."

"No, Mom, you're right. She's really looking forward to being a big sister." Robin couldn't help the smile as she said it. It had taken the blonde only about a day to realise that when she and Robin were married, she would be as much a big sister as her wife. She'd gone on the internet and bought two 'I'm the Big Sister' T-shirts - one in green and one in blue.

"Aye," Rogers said, chuckling. "She talked non-stop at me about it. For hours."

Zelena's lower lip trembled. Then she took a deep, calming breath. She looked at Regina and Emma. "Find Alice." She ordered. Looking back at Robin, she said, "I know you can take care of yourself, but do be careful, darling."

"I will, Mom." Robin promised her.

Regina nodded once and looked at Emma. "Are you okay with this?"

"Seems right to me." Emma told her, smiling a little at Robin.

"Alright. We promise to keep you both," Regina looked back and forth between Rogers and Zelena, "in the loop. When we find Alice, you'll be the first to know." The detective and the trainer nodded their thanks. She turned to Robin. "The scarf, if you would, please, Robin."

Robin picked up the garment and handed it to her aunt. She'd never seen a locator spell work before.

"Wait," her mother suddenly said. Everyone looked at her. "Just a moment." She waved her hand and in a puff of green smoke, held a well-worn bow in one hand and a quiver of arrows in the other. She held them out to Robin with a watery smile. "You shouldn't go into the unknown unarmed."

Gratitude filled Robin as she took the items from her mother. She slipped the quiver over her shoulder, settling it into place. The familiarity of its weight across her shoulder settled her like nothing else. The bow was the one she'd had for years - it had once belonged to her father, the great Robin Hood. She slid it into place over her shoulder. "Thanks, Mom." Zelena just smiled fondly at her daughter.

"Great," Emma said, sounding a little edgy. "Are we ready?"

"I am." Robin confirmed. "Let's go find Alice."

Regina opened the little bottle. Holding the scarf in one hand, she poured the contents of the bottle onto the fabric. The scarf glowed briefly, then lifted into the air. Regina tossed the now empty bottle to her sister and moved onto the balls of her feet. The scarf hovered in the same place for only a few seconds, then with a sudden burst, it flew away from everyone, did a circle of the room, and headed for the door.

"Follow it!" Emma called, already moving, Regina hot on her heels. Robin didn't hesitate and followed them out of the office.  
 **************

 **************

The bespelled scarf moved fast, but not too fast. Emma, Regina, and Robin followed it as it led them out of the school, past the grounds, and on the fastest - if not the easiest - route towards the Enchanted Forest. One of the reasons it has been so easy to keep Storybrooke hidden for as long as it had been was because of the way that it had been created. On one side you had the ocean. On every other side, there was Forest as far as the eye could see. Some of it was part of the original Enchanted Forest, but most of it was simply Maine.

Once in the Forest, though, the scarf stopped moving. It hovered in the air as though it were giving the three women time to catch up.

"Regina, what's wrong with the spell?" Emma asked, through her huffing and puffing. It wasn't that she was out of shape or anything - but she didn't run daily the way Robin did. Regina was breathing hard, too, but not nearly so much as Emma. One would think the Sheriff would be in better shape. Robin wondered how out of line it would be to suggest Emma get a membership at her mother's gym.

Frowning, the Queen walked towards the floating material. She raised her hands until the scarf was between them, closing her eyes. After a few moments, she sighed and opened her eyes. "I was afraid that something like this might happen. Whoever has Alice, they most likely put her somewhere that's enchanted. It's why I included Rogers' blood in the potion. Normally, nothing is stronger than blood magic." Regina explained.

"So, what do we do?" Robin asked.

"Don't worry, dear," Regina replied, a little smile playing at her lips. "I told you, I figured this would happen. I'm prepared. Do you still have the ring?"

"Yeah, of course I do." Robin pulled the little baggie out of her pocket and held it up for her aunt.

"Okay, take it out of the bag and hold it in your hand. Then I want you to think about Alice - about your life together, about your love, about anything you can think of."

Robin did as she was bade. The metal was warm after being in her pocket. Her hand closed around it and she closed her eyes. She could feel Regina and Emma watching her and did her best to ignore it. Instead, she pictured Alice in her head - the way she'd looked at breakfast that morning.

 _Alice's light blonde, curly hair was a rumpled mess and it was adorable, especially when she'd smiled at the plate of food waiting for her. The way her sky-blue eyes sparkled as she dug in and laughed when Robin had commented that she thought those noises were just for their bedroom activities. Alice had grinned around a mouthful of egg and winked at her. That reminded Robin of being Margot and wishing more than anything that the pretty girl she'd rescued from being run over would somehow show back up - and her delight when they had run into each other again on that bench. A part of her would always love that bench, no matter how far away from it they were._

 _Alice was smiling at her as they both stood, submerged in the cool water of a pond not far from Alice's little cottage in the Forest. The blonde was grinning at her with mischief obviously in mind until Robin had surprised her by diving under the water, wrapping her arms around Alice's legs and pulling her down. Alice came up sputtering and laughing and intent on paying her back. In the end, they were twined together in the water, mouths fused._

 _The night they had met when Alice had conjured the little yellow bug that had saved them from the angry village mob, Robin had looked into her eyes and she'd seen something there that had reached in and wrapped around her heart. She'd known, then, that this woman she barely knew was going to be her friend. She had even had an inkling of just how much she would come to care for her._

 _The smile on Alice's face - shocked and more than a little happy - as Robin dropped to one knee and held out the pretty little ring to her. That night, the way Alice had gone so slowly as she undressed Robin, laying soft, reverent kisses against each bit of skin as it was revealed. The candlelight dancing and jumping and turning Alice's pale skin into reflected fire as they moved against each other in a familiar rhythm that never got old. Curled together under their blanket, whispering about love and forever…_

"I think that should just about do it." Regina's voice broke into Robin's happy thoughts. Slowly, the archer opened her eyes. The sun above the treetops seemed a little blinding. Her aunt's face swam into a weird kind of focus - just like when she used to wear glasses as Margot. Regina was smiling softly at her niece, while Emma seemed to be studying her shoes. "Okay, Robin, I want you to come here, please." Regina gestured towards the floating scarf.

Robin approached it as requested.

"Okay, I want you to hold the ring out, like this," the Queen mimed holding the ring with a thumb and forefinger. Robin obeyed again. "Good, now hold it above the scarf." Again, Robin did as she was told. From her pocket, Regina produced another blue bottle - this one much smaller than the other. She pulled out the stopper and upended it over the ring.

A pale purple liquid slowly cascaded out and splashed over the metal of the ring, then down onto the scarf. First the ring and then the scarf began to glow with white light. Hurriedly, Regina pocketed the empty vial. "Get ready to run," she commanded them.

Robin quickly pulled the ring back and shoved it deep into her pocket. As she watched, the glow faded to nothing and the garment began to shake violently. Suddenly, it took off again, this time at a much faster pace than before. Robin ran after it without hesitation, not waiting for the other two. She knew she could keep up with it better than they could.

However, after another mile or so, the scarf stopped once again. This time, though, it dropped to the ground in the middle of a thick clump of trees. Regina and Emma joined Robin, both of them pretty winded. Despite the adrenaline from the run, Robin found the patience to wait until they could answer her questions.

"Now what?" she asked, gesturing at the pile of fabric on the ground.

Regina looked around. "By my calculations, that second potion should have gotten us to within a mile or a mile and a half of wherever Alice is. Now, as much as I hate to say it, we have to split up. We'll cover more ground that way."

"How will we stay in touch?" Emma asked. "Robin doesn't have her phone."

Regina looked around on the ground, then walked over to a nearby tree, bent over and scooped something into her hand. She came back to them and held out her find. Three acorns lay in her palm. She passed her other hand over them and all three glowed a slight purple. "We can use these. If you find Alice, just drop the acorn on the ground and step on it. That will draw the other two to it. I know it's not the best, but it will do."

They each took an acorn. Robin held hers in a fist and looked around her. "So which way do we go?"

Emma answered that. "Well, the scarf was headed this way, so I suggest we form a line and start there. Regina?"

"I agree."

They spread out pretty far in a line and started walking forward. Robin kept her eyes moving - looking up and down, side to side, anywhere that someone might have a person stashed away. She walked in a mostly straight line while Regina and Emma moved farther away into the trees. Soon, the archer could neither see nor hear them. For the first time in a long time, she was alone in the Forest.

Since it was still the middle of the day, stripes of sun came through the close-packed tops of the trees, far above her head. It gave a little light, but made it seem more than a little spooky, for some reason. Alice loved the Forest. She loved anywhere that was outside, where she could run and be free. Robin adored that about her.

She wasn't sure how long she'd been walking when the acorn in her hand started to vibrate. Opening her hand, she stared at it in amazement. Guessing as to how it worked, she closed her hand around it once more, and started turning in a slow circle. When she was facing the direction she thought her aunt was, the vibrations increased. So, Regina had found something. Using the vibrating acorn as guide, Robin walked until she saw her aunt.

What she saw just beyond Regina froze her blood in her veins.

Rising from the Forest floor was a tower made of cold grey stone with a pointed roof of blue tiles. Robin had never seen the place in tact before. But she had listened to Alice's stories. The base was solid rock, covered in greenish moss. At about the height of Robin's nose, it changed to individual stones, carefully placed together and artfully rounded. Higher above she could make out a bulge in the cylinder, outlined by wood. There were several small windows around the outside of the tower and one massive one. It was that 'window', Robin knew, that had once been Alice's only real link to the outside world.

Emma jogged up beside her and stared at the tower in astonishment. "Where…" she huffed, "did _that_ … come from?"

Robin knew. "From Alice's worst nightmares." She said, her voice tight with anxiety. She was only glad that Rogers wasn't here to see this. He knew that the years alone in the tower, once he'd been separated from his daughter, had been hard on Alice. He just didn't know how extremely difficult they had been. Robin knew. When they had first become friends, Alice had told her a few things about the Tower - like how it was enchanted and she never ran out of food or anything else she might need. Once they had become a couple and started to spend more time with one another - sharing a bed, even if it was just for sleeping - she'd opened up a lot more. Especially after Robin has been woken up by her nightmares.

"So," Regina mused, "this is _the_ Tower?"

Robin shrugged. "Or close enough to it. I mean the other one was destroyed by the Troll, but that doesn't mean another one didn't exist in another Realm and was brought over by the curse. Does it?"

"It could be," Regina conceded, hesitantly. "This doesn't feel like that, though. This is… new, I think. Emma, can you feel that?" The Queen extended her arm and waved her hand through the air in front of her. It moved slowly, as though there were some kind of resistance. Robin tried it and didn't feel a thing - except the dread that was knotting her belly as she thought about Alice alone up in that place.

Emma followed Regina's lead and made a face. "What _is it_? It sort of feels like Jell-O."

"It's a dampening spell, I'm afraid." Regina told her. "Robin, you won't be affected, but Emma and I - this will make all but the simplest magic impossible. I _think_ ," she drew the word out, looking upward, "that it's focussed on Light magic."

"Great," Emma griped with a sigh. "So, what do we do?"

"We have to get up there, to that big window." Robin pointed upward. "As far as I know that's the only way in or out. Unless you have a Troll handy." She muttered the last part under her breath.

"Okay," Emma said, looking up at the window, "I'll be right back." With that, she jogged off in the opposite direction of the tower.

Robin took a few steps back herself and kept looking up. She wanted to shout to see if Alice could hear her, but from what she'd been told, sound carried out of the tower alright, but not into it. If Alice was up there - and it seemed likely - she wouldn't hear them until they were climbing.

"I really hope the scarf was wrong," Robin commented.

"Why?" Regina asked, her voice sharp. "I thought you wanted to find Alice?"

"I do, Aunt Regina, I really do. But this… This is beyond bad."

"How so?" Her aunt's voice was quieter now, her expression as she tipped her head back was worried.

"I wasn't kidding when I said this was Alice's worst nightmare. She… It's been over ten years since she got out of that place and she _still_ has night terrors about it, sometimes. For you and me, dreaming about somewhere we called home until we were 17 might be okay, but not for Alice. She _hates_ this tower." Robin wished she could tell her aunt more, but she didn't dare. The things that Alice had shared with her had been secrets, truths that she was ashamed of, but felt that Robin should know if they were going to stay together. She had to have some explanation for why she sometimes woke up crying, or why she lashed out in her sleep.

Regina lowered her gaze and seemed to study her niece. "Can you tell me about it? So, we know what to expect when we get up there?"

Robin took a deep breath. "You know Alice was stuck in that place until she was 17, right?" Her aunt nodded. "Okay, well, for ten years, it was her and her father and things were good, more or less. Then, Gothel showed up, just as Wish Hook was about to give Alice the key to getting out of the tower."

"You mean Maui's Hook?" Regina knew that story well.

Robin nodded. "Right. That was the day Gothel told her that she'd never see her father again and if she did, it would kill him. She was ten years old, Aunt Regina. Can you believe that? I mean, I've heard stories about my grandma and she was pretty bad, - especially what she did to your Daniel and my mom - but Gothel took away the only loving parent Alice ever had and then left her all alone up in that tower. For _seven years_."

Regina muttered darkly under her breath for a few minutes. When she'd calmed down, she said, "Sorry. Go on."

Robin shared her aunt's sentiments. "Well, think about it. How would you feel if the only person you had ever loved was suddenly just _gone_? She blamed herself, of course, because she's Alice. She figured that if her father had just stayed home, and not gone looking for a way to get her out of the tower, then the bad thing wouldn't have happened. On top of that… Aunt Regina, who did you go to when you… became a woman?" The Queen's eyes widened in horror. "Yeah. Alice had _no one_ for all those years. Nobody to hold her when she was sad or hurting, nobody to tell her that it would be okay, and nobody to explain things that every girl should know. Some of what she's told me over the years… We are lucky she is as sweet and caring as she is. She could have very easily gone the other direction and followed in Gothel's footsteps."

Emma swore loudly behind them. She'd come back while Robin had been talking and had heard a lot of what was said. Robin and Regina turned around to look at her. She had unshed tears in her eyes as she looked up at the tower. She was also holding a large coil of rope with a metal grappling hook at one end. The Saviour looked at Robin. "Kid," she said, "I love Alice. I mean, how can you not love her, even just a little bit? Can I just say that I'm glad she turned that bitch into a tree? Hearing what you just said, I'm half-tempted to go to Hyperion Heights with an axe or maybe some gasoline and a box of matches."

"Don't think I haven't been tempted myself, Emma." Regina told her.

"But it would hurt Alice," Robin completed the thought. Alice held no real love for the woman who had given birth to her, however, she didn't believe in killing. Somewhere, deep down inside of her, Robin knew that the woman she loved secretly hoped that Gothel would be worth saving someday.

"It would. So, it looks like we climb and hope that a couple of hours trapped inside of this tower haven't reopened psychological scars on someone we all care about." Emma summed up. "Okay, stand back."

It took the Saviour two tries to get the grappling hook into the big, open window. She pulled on it once it was in and felt it catch. "We are good to go. Who goes first?"

"I do." Robin said, firmly. "Alice won't hurt me. She loves me. No matter what, I'm the safest, so I'll go." Neither of the other two women argued with her. Taking a deep breath, Robin slid her bow over her head so it rested next to the quiver on her back. She took the rope from Emma, noting that it looked a lot like the ropes kids climbed in gym class, but with knots tied in it every few feet. Glad that she had worn her lucky boots that day, Robin started to climb.

 _ **Author's Note**_ : Uh-Oh, the tower is back. But, is Alice really in there? Thanks for coming along on this adventure, ladies and gents. Welcome , thanks for the favourite! Cheers, everyone! Reviews fuel the muse.


	7. Chapter 7

_**Disclaimer**_ : I do not own Once Upon a Time or any of the characters. I'm new to this particular fandom – CuriousArcher, MadArcher, whatever you want to call it. I mean, how hard was it to not love Robin and Alice? They're totally adorable! Thanks, OUaT! Any and all mistakes are mine.

***Special Note: This is not a pretty, flowery chapter. However, as I promised another reader, things will get better from here on out. If you don't like descriptions of injuries and worry for someone's safety, this won't be the chapter for you and you can skip it. We'll get back to the wedding plans, soon.***

 **The Hiccup - Part II**

Even though the tower was as tall as the trees around them, and even though she'd spent a great deal of time on her feet that day, Robin found the strength and stamina to make it up the rope in what she thought might be record time. The knots in the rope helped her to be fast and once at the top, she didn't hesitate to latch onto the window sill and pull herself inside.

The interior of the tower was dim, though not dark. There were other windows, but they had been shuttered, so only the mostly blocked sunlight of the forest entered the single room. It was a drab room, to Robin's eyes. Circular, of course, it contained just about everything that one would need to survive. There was a large fireplace, alight, though offering no warmth that Robin could discern. Along one wall was a tiny kitchen area with copper pots and pans hanging from wooden pegs. There was a wooden island that looked like the only real space to create food on. A small niche held a cupboard with a single shelf above it. Clay pots of various shapes and sizes adorned the shelf, each with a label that she couldn't read. A single leather armchair sat in front of the fireplace, a little table beside it. Opposite the fireplace was a bookshelf built into the wall. Next to it, a tapestry, hanging against the wall.

Alice was nowhere to be found.

Hearing a noise from outside, Robin went back to the window and looked outside. Emma had just started her climb, though from the looks of it, it was going to take her longer than it had Robin. So, knowing that she had some time, the archer decided to look around.

First, because it was so odd, she checked out the big fireplace with the crackling fire. Flames dances and leapt and the fire popped as a fire should when there was wood in it, however, it didn't give off any heat. The light from it seemed subdued as well - it was a lot dimmer inside the room than it should be. Crouching down in front of it, Robin tentatively reached out a hand, moving nearer and nearer to what should have been unbearable heat. It passed through the flame without issue and was unscathed when she brought it back towards her.

"It's an illusion? But why?" Robin wondered aloud. She got back on her feet and moved towards the kitchen area, stopping next to the wooden island. Then, the archer braced herself and made as though to slam her palm into the surface. Unsurprisingly, it passed right through the 'wood'. That was good enough for Robin. It was time to check _everything_.

Going back to the big window, the archer looked down at Emma's progress. She was about halfway up. By the time she was at the top, Robin figured she'd have the place cased as well as she could in the dim light. Then, Emma could use the flashlight on her phone and they could do more.

Robin returned to the kitchen area and began a methodical 'search'. The island was an illusion, and so were the pots and pans hanging at the back wall. The little bit of a shelf underneath them was real, but nothing that appeared to be on top of it was. The cupboards and shelf were real as well, but not the clay vessels. She checked the bookshelf next, deciding to leave the tapestry for last, so she could study it, just in case it held a clue to Alice's true whereabouts. Surprisingly, the bookshelf was real and so were the books. Unfortunately, the books seemed to be anchored in place - Robin was unable to pull any and none of the spines held a title. Maybe they weren't real books?

Finally, she moved to the tapestry. It appeared to be made of some heavy material and the picture on it portrayed a familiar sight. It was a green meadow with rolling hills. Atop one of the hills were two people - a blonde girl and a dark-haired man. Obviously, it was meant to represent Alice and her father. They sat on a blanket and appeared to be having a tea party. It was a beautiful sight and one that Robin wished had actually taken place.

She reached out to touch the material and was shocked to find that it was _real_. Not only was it real, but it _moved_. It wasn't covering a wall; it was blocking something else. Grabbing as much as she could, Robin pulled and was rewarded when it ripped and came down. Dropping what she held, the archer gasped at what had been revealed.

A double bed made of dark wood sat in a recessed alcove covered in what looked like a heavy patchwork quilt. Seemingly decadent pillows took up the head of the bed and lying atop one of them was _Alice_.

Robin was at the head of the bed, kneeling next to her fiancée as quickly as she could move. The first thing she did was make sure that Alice was breathing - a shallow, but steady rise and fall of her love's chest was enough to reassure her. She groaned in dismay as she saw the beautiful blonde's face. One eye was swollen almost completely shut and had started to turn purple - looking black in the dimness. The other side of Alice's face was also puffy, but hadn't started to bruise yet. Her love's lower lip was split in two places and dried blood crusted both cuts as well as her chin and part of her neck.

"Oh, Alice!" Robin cried quietly. "What did they do to you?"

She didn't really want to know, but she had to check. As carefully as she could, Robin lifted and pulled the heavy quilt down until Alice was fully uncovered. Thankfully, she was still clothed in the outfit she'd probably worn to the tournament. The outfit was a very Tilly kind of thing - a navy blue shirt with three-quarter sleeves underneath a lighter blue sleeveless polo shirt with white around the collar, sleeve holes, and hem. The blue of the outer shirt matched the Storybrooke High school colours. Tenderness filled the archer as she saw that and wished she could kiss the woman before her. Alice also wore a pair of navy leggings and a plaid skirt that matched all the colours. Any other time, Robin would have loved that skirt, but now it was just cloth.

The first thing the archer noticed was that Alice had been tied to the bed, hands and feet. Anger seethed through her, turning to ice when she saw the blood that had soaked into the sheets from the lacerations on Alice's wrists and ankles. The wounds didn't appear to be bleeding now, but there seemed to be a lot of blood on the sheets and though it might've been her imagination playing tricks on her, Robin thought the woman she loved looked paler than normal. Robin knew she needed to get the ropes off of Alice, but wanted to check her out for any other - more intimate - injuries, before Emma got there.

"Alice, sweetheart, I'm going to check to see how hurt you are, okay? I'm sorry." Robin said aloud, though her voice was quiet and broke a little on the last word. For some reason she felt it was better to say it before she did it - even if Alice couldn't hear her. God, she hoped she didn't hurt her more doing this.

Starting at her head, Robin ran her fingers over Alice in as detached a way as she could muster. She found a medium sized bump on the back of the blonde's head that she knew hadn't been there this morning. On her upper arms there were fingertip sized bruises where someone had probably grabbed her. At her wrists, Robin cringed, but checked to make sure the blood had really stopped - it had, thankfully.

Lifting Alice's shirts, she found several large, fist-shaped bruises on Alice's lower abdomen, and one in the middle of her sternum. Grinding her teeth at those bruises and hoping that there wasn't something more wrong - like internal bleeding - Robin lowered the shirts and smoothed them back into place. She decided to take a look at Alice's hands again. When she did, she was not at all surprised to see scraped knuckles - her fiancée was fierce. Alice, it seemed, had fought against whoever had taken her. That might've been why she'd been beaten up so badly.

There were more finger-bruises on the unconscious woman's hips. Robin felt her stomach roll at that, afraid of the reasons someone might have for holding Alice down by her hips. They'd have to wait until she woke up to find out if a rape-kit was needed. She desperately hoped it wasn't. Lastly were the rope lacerations around Alice's ankles and the blood on the bed.

Tears stung Robin's eyes and all she wanted to do was hold the woman she loved and make this whole terrible ordeal go away. For both of them. Robin wasn't stupid and she was more than aware of what PTSD could do to someone. Margot had seen a lot of it in her travels around the world and it had stabbed at her heart then. Now… even the thought that Alice was going to continue to suffer, even after getting out of this made Robin want to cry.

Luckily, there was a thud behind her and she looked over to see Emma sprawled on the floor just inside the big window. She could see that the Saviour's face was red from exertion and she lay there, just breathing for several minutes.

When she had breath enough to speak, she looked over at Robin and said, "I think I need to join Zelena's gym. Damn, kid, you made that climb look easy."

Robin flashed her a quick amused smile before turning her attention back to Alice. The distraction was exactly what she'd needed. Tears no longer threatened to fall. Instead, all she wanted to do was to get Alice out of this place and heal her wounds. She wanted to go home, where Alice would feel safe. After being here, even if most of it was just an illusion, the only place Alice would feel comfortable would be in their apartment. With her. Robin was sure of that.

Now, to get the rope off.

"Robin, wait!" Emma called to her. The blonde got up off of the floor and made her way over to the little alcove. When she saw Alice and what had been done to her, she swore viciously, multiple times. Then, she looked at the archer and said, "I hate to do this, but I need to get pictures."

Robin swallowed hard and nodded. "I'm… I'm gonna go wait for Aunt Regina." She just couldn't watch Emma do that to Alice. She wasn't angry or anything, but it had been hard enough seeing it the first time, a second time was not in the cards.

"I understand." Emma said, her voice gentle as she got out her phone. "As soon as I'm done, we'll get those ropes off, okay?"

Robin nodded once and went to stand by the window, in case her aunt needed any help. As it turned out, though, Regina could climb nearly as quickly as her niece. She had discarded the grey suit jacket and was in only her red blouse. It was sleeveless and showed off her arms and shoulders, which were strong and well defined. Still, she accepted the hand Robin offered when she got to the ledge and let herself be helped inside.

"Wow, Aunt Regina." Robin said as the Queen swiped sweat out of her face with a handkerchief from a pocket, and then straightened her shirt.

Regina grinned at her. "What? I stay in shape. It's been some time since I've climbed this high on a rope, but it could have been much worse." She winked at Robin. "I'm the Queen, Robin, I have a reputation to uphold, you know." A flash from Emma's camera caught her attention then, and she looked towards the bed. "Oh. Oh dear. Oh, Alice. Bastards." Her voice grew hard on Alice's name. She strode across the room and stood at the foot of the bed, watching Emma methodically take photos. Robin could tell just how angry she was by the set of her shoulders and the way she stood even straighter than normal.

Robin didn't move from the window, so she couldn't hear what Emma said quietly to Regina. She did hear her aunt let out a stream of curses that she hadn't known Regina knew. The dark-haired woman turned from the bed, and Robin was surprised to see her dashing the tears from her face with the back of her hand. The archer couldn't figure out if they were angry tears, sad tears, or both. Regina's face was blank and stony, an expression Robin had never really seen before. It was a little scary.

Needing to say something, Robin told her aunt, "Almost everything in here, except the bed and that wall hanging on the ground," she pointed to where she'd left the tapestry on the floor, "is an illusion."

That made Regina's eyebrows slide up into her hair. Robin watched as she did a circuit around the room, the same way that the archer had, trying to touch things, only to have her hand go through it. When she was done, she stood in the middle of the room, hands on hips. "Who would go through all the trouble to make this tower, then create the inside as an illusion?"

"To hurt Alice," Robin told her. She'd been thinking about since they'd found the tower. "Somebody found her story - a really detailed version of it - and created this because they knew that it would hurt her - even more than… than what they already did. I know you think that this was aimed at you, Aunt Regina, and maybe it was, by proxy, but this whole place was created to make _Alice_ suffer."

Emma put her phone back in her pocket and looked at Regina. "She's right. Alice has been our ace in the hole, lately, Regina. If not for her, then we'd have lost against more than a couple of those constructs. By taking her out of the game, even temporarily, whoever is behind them has the upper hand."

"And we still have _no idea_ who that is." Regina finished the thought, sounding tired for the first time that day. "Well, let's not worry about that. Let's get those damned ropes off of her and get Alice the hell out of here. Robin, you help Emma and I'm going to try to find a way out of here that doesn't involve repelling down a wall."

Robin didn't hesitate to do as her aunt commanded. "How can you be sure there _is_ another way out?" She asked as she started on the rope at Alice's ankle.

"Because whoever they are, they are smart. Smart people always leave more than one way out." Regina moved to the wall, pressed her palms flat against it and began to move slowly around the room.

The rope was not only tight, it was also covered in Alice's blood, slightly dried and crusty, but not completely. Robin's heart pounded in her ears when she tried to undo the knot and couldn't. Remembering that she had a pocket knife in her pants, she dug around a moment before pulling it out, smearing the blood on her clothes. It wasn't a huge blade, but it was sharp enough to cut through whatever material the cable was made of. Seeing this, Emma took out her own dagger - larger than Robin's and more lethal looking - and sliced carefully through the strands around Alice's wrists. Then, she got out her phone again and snapped a few more pictures.

"Sorry," she apologised, looking and sounding sincere.

"It's your job," was all Robin said. She looked around. "How are we going to get her out of here without hurting her more than she already is?"

Emma frowned. "Good question. Stay with her and I'll see what I can come up with." She left Robin alone with Alice's prone form on the bed and walked over to talk quietly with Regina.

Robin sat gingerly on the mattress next to the woman she loved and gently took her hand in one of her own. She reached up and lightly stroked her fingers over Alice's golden curls. If it weren't for the swelling and bruising, she almost appeared to be asleep. Leaning close to Alice's ear, the archer whispered, "I'm sorry, love. I'm so sorry this happened to you. We're going to get you out of here, okay? We're going to make you safe. I love you." She brushed a kiss on Alice's temple.

A few tense moment later, Regina let out a triumphant, "Ah-hah!" She was standing where the illusion of the hanging pots and pans were. She tapped on the wall with her fist and it wasn't stone, it was wood. After a few more moments of moving her hands around the Queen rattled what sounded like a doorknob. "Found it. We shouldn't have any problems getting out of here, now."

Emma decided that a litter would be the easiest way to get Alice away. They used the heavy quilt from the bed, laid it on the floor, then moved the unconscious woman onto it as gently as possible. Then, Robin and the Sheriff tied the corners together to both keep Alice from falling out and to make it easier to carry.

"I fully expect this door to be booby-trapped," Regina admitted when they approached her with their new charge. "So, we need to move as fast as possible. I'll go first and get down to the bottom first, just in case. As soon as we are far enough away from this dampening field, we'll use magic. Got it?" Emma and Robin nodded solemnly. "Good. Now, get ready." They did.

Regina shook the knob again, making sure it was unlocked, then turned it and opened the door. As soon as she did, all the illusion magic in the room flashed red and disappeared. A rumbling started and that could only mean one thing - this place was going to come down around their ears.

Carrying Alice in the blanket wasn't easy, but Robin and Emma were able to stay pretty close to Regina. Lucky for them, whoever had done this had been lazy. They didn't have to go down stairs, just a winding stone ramp. This was a good thing since it helped them to run faster, which they needed to do when stone started to rain down on them from above. They didn't stop, or hesitate in the least and Robin was hit by more than a couple pieces, bruising her and cutting her arm and her face. None of that mattered to her, though. She barely felt it.

At the bottom of the ramp there appeared to be no way out, just a solid wall of stone. That didn't stop Regina from tucking her head down and barrelling into it with her shoulder, like a football player might do. She passed right through it, so Emma and Robin didn't even slow down when the got there, they just kept on going.

The light outside the tower seemed almost too bright as they ran out of the building. They kept going, farther into the Forest, as more stones fell, barely missing them. Robin made the mistake of looking over her shoulder and saw that the tower was not only coming down, it was falling _towards_ them.

"Go faster!" She shouted at Emma, who didn't even ask, just lengthened her stride.

The tower, though, seemed to be falling slowly and they were well away from it when it hit the ground in a deafening _crash_. Rocks, dirt, dust, and other detritus filled the air, getting in Robin's eyes, her mouth, and her nose. Coughing and choking, she had to stop running. Emma, too, halted, her own noises of discomfort echoing the archer's. Lowering Alice to the ground, Robin focussed on not coughing so hard that it made her gag. Emma was not so lucky, stumbling sideways after letting go of her burden to be noisily sick in the bushes.

A soft wind suddenly blew, clearing the dust. Robin took in a great gasp of now fresh air. It didn't stop the coughing, but it helped immensely. A few moments later, Regina walked back to them. She reached Emma first, where the Saviour was on her knees, dry heaving and gasping. Regina set a hand on the other woman's shoulder before purple light suffused Emma's shoulder, neck, and head. The blonde sagged, focussing now on breathing. She put a hand over Regina's in mute thanks, unable to speak yet.

Next the Queen approached Robin and repeated what she'd done to Emma. Instantly, Robin felt the pain in her chest, sinuses, and throat vanish. Her eyes stopped burning, though tears continued to leak from the corners. In Regina's other hand a glass of water appeared and her Aunt held it out for her. Robin took it with a nod of thanks, though she was still breathing too hard to drink it. With a pleading look at her aunt, she pointed to Alice, now sprawled on the quilt in the middle of the path.

Regina patted her niece's back gently, understanding what she was being asked to do, and then knelt down next to the still unconscious woman. Starting at her head, the Queen's hands began to glow once again. Robin started to calm as her heart rate slowed and her breathing normalised. She drank the water her aunt had given her slowly and watched as Alice's wounds were healed. Emma joined a few minutes later, starting at Alice's feet and ankles, white light pouring from her hands, suffusing Alice, and eventually joining with Regina's. The two colours danced and swirled together like a beautiful dance and when the light faded, the love of Robin's life appeared as though she were simply sleeping on a blanket in the middle of the forest - except for where blood still darkened her clothing and dried on her skin.

The sight brought back some fond memories for Robin. Simpler times for the two of them, just being together without much in the way of worries. Sure, the Forest had dangers, but they could be avoided easily enough. Sometimes, the archer missed it.

When Alice was healed, Emma and Regina stood up and Robin drained the last of the water, the cup vanishing as soon as she did. "What now?" She asked.  
 **************

 **************  
Robin was worried about Alice. She was healed and Robin had given her a gentle sponge bath to clean off any dried blood. She had also changed Alice's clothes and given them to Emma as evidence, so now the blond wore plain grey sweatpants and a bright yellow tank top. She lay under a light coverlet on the bed in Emma's guest room, still unconscious. She hadn't even batted an eyelid during the clean-up and undress/redress process.

Both her aunt and Emma had assured her that sometimes, after being healed, a person stayed asleep for a while. Regina reminded her gently that Alice had just been through a trauma that they could not begin to understand and that rest was probably the best thing for her. Robin heard their words, but her hand still curled around her love's hand as an anchor - for both of them.

It had been decided that Emma's house was the safest place to bring Alice because it was heavily warded already, and because Emma's husband was home and would protect them all as best he could. He also knew the code to the panic room, if it were needed. Robin had wanted to just go _home_ , but was vetoed. Being too tired, and too worried about Alice, she'd just shut up and agreed. Now, she was also dressed in a pair of Emma's sweats and a plain black t-shirt, since her clothes were stained with Alice's blood.

Rogers had met them there, his mouth a furious line until he saw Alice. He'd softened as only a father could and gently touched her hair. Apparently, he'd seen the pictures that Emma had taken because they automatically uploaded to the server at the Sheriff's office. He knew what they bastards had done and Robin knew that he wouldn't stop until they'd paid for what they had done to his little girl. She loved him for that.

Once they had put Alice in Emma's spare room, Regina, Emma, and Rogers had all gone back to the Sheriff's station to discuss things with Zelena. They'd left Robin alone with her unconscious fiancée, and she was just fine with that. It would probably be better if Alice woke up with her there than if she didn't, since it was a strange place and she was in strange clothes. The only problem was that it had been several hours and Alice was still seemingly out cold. Robin worried about that.

She'd once read somewhere - she couldn't quite remember if it was herself or Margot who had done the actually reading - that someone who was traumatised could and would escape into their own head. The brain was a fascinating organ and it was capable of creating entire worlds within itself that seemed so real to the person there, that they didn't want to leave. It could happen for so long that the brain 'forgot' to keep the rest of the body functioning, causing eventual death. That terrified Robin more than anything else she could think of.

So, she'd spent the last few hours sitting on the bed in silence, just holding Alice's hand in hers and gently stroking her hair. Finally, though, she couldn't stand the quiet anymore.

"Alice, sweetheart, please wake up. I don't know what's going on in that Wonderland brain of yours, but I promise that it's not better than what's waiting for you out here. I know that what happened to you was scary, - I was so scared _for_ you - but you can come back now. You're safe. Me and Emma and Aunt Regina, we got you out of that awful place. We aren't home, but that's okay. I promise. Please, just come back to me, Alice." The tears she'd been holding back finally started to fall and Robin turned away from the recumbent form of her lover. She didn't want Alice to see her cry, not when the other woman _needed_ her to be strong.

Robin grabbed one of the numerous pillows at the head of the bed, buried her face in it, and sobbed as quietly as she could, until her eyes ran dry and her throat was sore. When it was all done, she felt hollow, but better. Apologising silently to Emma for possibly ruining her pillow, Robin dropped it to the floor beside the bed. Then she grabbed a second pillow, placed it next to Alice's and laid down on her side. She put one hand on her love's chest, under her left breast so that she could feel the steady beating of Alice's heart and her deep, shallow breathing.

"I'm here, Alice. I love you." She whispered, closing her eyes and letting sleep take over.

 _ **Author's Note**_ : Okay, so things will get better, I swear. Keep in mind, though, that this _is_ OUaT and there is always at least a little darkness before things get brighter. You can't have all good or it's sort of boring. Reviews fuel the muse. Cheers!


	8. Chapter 8

_**Disclaimer**_ : I do not own Once Upon a Time or any of the characters. I'm new to this particular fandom – CuriousArcher, MadArcher, whatever you want to call it. I mean, how hard was it to not love Robin and Alice? They're totally adorable! Thanks, OUaT! Any and all mistakes are mine.

 **Healing Break**

Robin woke up as two feet were placed squarely in the centre of her back and she was propelled off the bed. She landed on the hardwood floor on her right hip and shoulder, causing her to grunt in pain. Rolling over onto her back it took her several moments to remember what was happening and where she was. Once she recalled that she was not at home, and why, Robin was awake immediately.

Or she would have been if her eyes hadn't been crusted shut.

Ugh, she should have known better than to fall asleep after a good cry. Rubbing at her eyes to clear the gross caking from them, Robin sat up. She finally opened her eyes and wished that she hadn't. Her eyelids felt like sandpaper that scraped her eyes raw. Looking around blearily, she wondered why she'd fallen off the bed. When she saw that both Alice and the blanket were gone, she knew.

Scrambling to her feet Robin peered about her, surprised at how dim the light in the room was. It wasn't quite dark, so she knew that she hadn't been asleep all that long, but the sun was going down. What she saw in that low lighting, though, made her stomach churn.

Alice was awake, something that should have filled her with joy. Instead, she saw that Alice had taken the blanket and was huddled in a corner of the room, the blanket covering everything but her face. The expression on her beautiful face was at once scared and confused, mixed with just a tiny bit of hope. Alice's blue eyes roved around, searching for _something_ , until they fell on Robin. Then, she whimpered, and… _cowered_ away from her.

"Alice!" Robin tried, reaching out her hand. Her voice, however, came out as a dry croak, barely audible. Alice flinched farther into the blanket.

Robin spent a few minutes trying to moisten the desert that was her mouth and throat. When she spoke again, she sounded more like herself. "Alice?"

The head within the blanket looked sharply up at her and blue eyes stared hard for a few moments before looking away. Noise started to emanate from the hood of the blanket. It took Robin a few moments of carefully listening before she realised just what Alice was saying.

"Not real. Not real. Not real."

Hearing that made the archer's heart ache. Alice thought she wasn't real. What had those psychos done to her? Was there any way to fix it? Only one way to find out. Robin fumbled for the sport's bottle of water on Emma's night stand, flipped open the top and took a mouthful in, swishing around before swallowing. She cleared her throat a couple of times.

"Sweetheart," she tried, experimentally, and found that she sounded mostly like herself again. She took a larger drink and closed the bottle. She walked around the bed, limping just a little when her hip complained, so she dropped to her hands and knees. It made her more on Alice's level, rather than towering over her. Staying a few feet away from her scared fiancée, Robin took a deep breath and ordered herself to be cool. Alice needed her.

"Alice, it's me, it's _Robin_. I'm here. I'm _here_. _I'm real_." Robin said, her voice soft, but confident.

Alice's chant faltered. Under the hood, she shook her head violently. "Can't be real. Dreaming." She shook her head harder. "Wake up!"

"Alice! Please, stop, you'll hurt yourself! You _aren't_ dreaming. I promise, I'm real. I never break my promises, do I?" It was true. In all the time that they had been friends and more, Robin had never made a promise that she hadn't kept. "I never lie to you and I never break a promise."

Robin's words made Alice freeze. "Never… N-Nobin?" She whispered.

"It's still not a cool nickname, but I love it when you call me that, Tower girl." Robin said, and immediately regretted calling Alice by her pet name. It was done out of reflex to Alice calling her 'Nobin', it was a reminder of where she'd been only a few hours before.

Except it made the frightened young woman relax a little. She slid the blanket from her head. She blinked several times and then looked around as though seeing where she was for the first time. "Where am I?" She asked in an uncertain voice.

" _We_ are in Emma's guest room." Robin told her.

"Emma's? Why?"

Robin bit her lower lip. "She and Aunt Regina deemed it safer than our apartment right now."

"Safer… Robin… How can this be real? The tower… I was in the tower… _She_ said I was sick - raving and _mad_ … I'm not going mad, am I?" Her eyes grew wide and she held up one wrist. It was pale and unmarred. "No scar…" she murmured, confused.

It tore at Robin's heart to hear Alice sound so unsure. She swallowed around the lump in her throat and said, "You aren't sick _or_ mad, sweetheart. _This_ is all real. I'm here." The Archer scooted forward a little and held out her hand. "Take my hand. I promise you that I won't disappear."

Alice stared at her with hope and longing. Slowly, she reached out her hand, hesitated a second, then placed it on Robin's. She pressed hard, as though she expected her hand to pass through. Robin closed her hand around Alice's and squeezed gently. "See. Real."

Alice's lower lip trembled. "Robin… She… I…"

Unable to stand seeing the woman she loved so scared and unsure, Robin tightened her grip and tugged. "Come here, Alice. Please."

Alice didn't hesitate this time. She dropped the blanket and launched herself at the kneeling woman. Robin braced for the impact and wrapped her arms all the way around her love, holding her hard. It felt just like when they had 'woken up' from the curse in the cave under Hyperion Heights. Relief and love filled her in equal parts as Alice buried her face in Robin's neck, arms around the archer's shoulders, squeezing with all her might, her whole body shaking like an addict drying out. Holding her tight she whispered promises that everything would be alright.

She hoped it was a promise she could keep.

How long they stayed like that, she didn't know. She moved them back, so she could lean against the bed. When Alice stopped trembling, Robin's grip shifted until she was half cradling the blonde. She kissed Alice's temple and ran shaking fingers through her tangled blonde curls. She'd tried brushing it, earlier and had only been about half-successful. Alice seemed to relax the more she did it, though.

Alice raised her head and the archer knew what she wanted, without her having to say a word. She leaned in and pressed their mouths together in a gentle kiss.

Finally, the blonde raised her head and looked up at Robin. "What day is it?" She asked, and her voice didn't sound at all uncertain.

"I'm pretty sure it's still Saturday." The archer told her. Alice blinked in surprise. Then, she exhaled hard.

"It felt like I was gone ages. I think… I think I was under a spell - somehow. I don't know." She moved, trying to sit up. Robin helped her, letting her go reluctantly. When she was sitting on the floor beside the archer, Robin handed her the water bottle. Alice gave her a little smile and drank down most of the bottle. "What happened?"

"You don't remember?" Robin asked, a little concerned about that. Memory loss was bad, though that lump on Alice's head hadn't been large.

"Not… everything. I got to the school early, so I could get a good seat, but I had to go to the bathroom. Some nice people said they'd keep my seat empty for me. I… that's the last thing I remember until I woke up in the tower." She hesitated but reached for Robin's hand. Robin laced their fingers together and clutched it reassuringly. "There was a woman there, but her face was all… swimmy. Sorry, I know that's not very helpful. She told me that I had been very ill and that it had affected my mind. She showed me," Alice swallowed hard, "showed me the tower and it was just… just like I remembered it, like I'd never left. I… When she told me you were all in my mind, that there was no such thing as the Curse, and Hyperion Heights never existed, I started fighting. I didn't want to believe it. And then… that's all I remember." She finished up. "I don't even remember going to sleep."

"Wow. I'm really sorry, Alice." Robin apologised, though she knew she couldn't have done anything to stop what had happened.

Alice let out a little snort. "You couldn't do anything. You didn't know. But I appreciate the thought, love." She shivered and leaned into Robin, who put an arm around her shoulders. "Was I really in that place or was that all a lie, too? Or a dream?"

Robin sighed. "It was sort of real."

"Sort of?"

"The tower was real, but just about everything in it was fake. Alice, you don't remember getting… hurt?" Robin asked, hesitantly.

Alice shook her head. "I don't remember anything until I woke up in the tower. And then… I _felt_ awful. I hurt, and I couldn't see very well. She said it was part of the sickness. Was it bad?"

"Bad enough. Emma and Aunt Regina healed you, though, so you don't have to worry about it." Robin had to suppress her own shiver at the memory of what had been done to Alice. "I think you might've fought them."

"Well, 'course I did. I'd never go down without some kind of fight. I'm a pirate's daughter, after all, aren't I?" Alice gave her a slightly lopsided grin, then she frowned. "I wonder why I didn't use magic to just get away. Would have been easier."

Robin contemplated that, too. "I think they must've shielded you, somehow, dampened your magic. Aunt Regina said the tower was like that - she and Emma couldn't use any magic until we were away from it."

"Hmmm. So, one question then."

"Just one? What's that?"

"Why _me_? What have _I_ done?"

Robin shook her head. "I don't know and neither do Emma or Aunt Regina. _Mom_ thinks it might be because you've been helping Emma and Aunt Regina with those construct _things_. I guess they still don't have any idea who's behind them."

Alice was silent and thoughtful for a few minutes. Finally, she asked, "Were you scared?"

"Terrified. After whoever it was called me, I -"

"- They called you?" Alice cut her off. "They had your number?"

"Yeah. I got a call after the tournament. I don't know where they got the number. I heard them… hurting you. They told me that they had you and were going to keep you for a while. Then they hung up. It scared me so much, Alice. I… All I could do was imagine ways they had hurt you and whether or not we'd find you in time." Robin admitted. It was the blonde's turn to reassure, wrapping her arms around her fiancée's waist.

"I'm alright." Alice told her. "I mean, it was scary, and I nearly believed what they told me - but I think that whatever spell they put on me must've worn off or something. As soon as I touched you, I _knew_ that it was all a lie. It was like a fog was lifted off my brain - it reminded me of that time I was Tilly, and I shot Rumple because I _remembered_ who he was, who _I_ was, but he didn't. I'm glad you didn't have to shoot me to get me to remember you."

"Me too. Alice, you have some tight mental shields - I've heard Aunt Regina say so - and it makes me wonder how they got into your mind. Unless they drugged you, too."

Alice shrugged. "It's possible. I just… I'm sorry, but I don't remember. It's all gone. Probably their doing, too. 'Specially if I saw any of 'em. I mean, saw them better."

Robin shook her head. Emma wouldn't like it and Regina might insist on trying to recover the memories, but it was probably for the best if Alice _didn't_ remember. "Don't worry about it right now. I'm just glad you're awake and okay."

The blonde shrugged again. "As okay as I can be. I _hate_ that tower. Is it still there?"

"Nope. It was booby-trapped. It fell down when we rescued you."

"Good." Alice said, fiercely.

Neither said anything for a few minutes. Robin just wanted to soak up the feel of Alice awake and mostly herself again. Alice, for her part, seemed to be thinking about all that had happened. Finally, she said, "I suppose I'm going to have to talk to the police."

"Yeah. And they'll all probably want you to get looked at by a doctor, even though they healed you."

Alice sighed. "Well, let's go get it over with. I want to go home. No offence to Emma, but I want to wear my own clothes."  
 **************

 **************  
Robin woke up in their bed, arms around the peacefully slumbering blonde beside her and smiled.

 _Rogers had been at Emma's when they came down stairs. Alice had taken one look at him and hurled herself at him. Rogers hugged his daughter with his whole being. Robin had seen them like this on occasion, but this one reminded her of the way they'd been just after he'd been healed of the poison in his heart. It was a thing of beauty and it made Robin glad to witness it. Rogers raised his eyes and met hers, a depth of gratitude held in them too large for words. She smiled at him and nodded once._

 _Killian came into the living room then, the infant Hope fussing in his arms. Alice looked up from her reunion with her father and gave the baby a bright smile. Nobody was sure how Hope and Alice were related since their fathers were virtually the same person. All that mattered was that the baby reacted to Alice like no other. She stopped fussing and her head turned. Killian had rolled his eyes, called himself chopped liver, and handed over the baby to be entertained while he went to call Emma to tell her that Alice was awake._

 _The questions had not been easy for Alice to answer, but she'd done the best she could. She'd even submitted to Regina when the Queen had asked to search her mind for any sign of a memory patch. Instead of a patch though, she'd simply found a blank emptiness where memories should be. She'd swore a blue streak about people who dared mess with mind magic, all the while being a little bit impressed with how well it was done and how carefully._

 _When Alice had finished, they were not any farther along than they had been earlier that day - except for having rescued Alice. Hope had abandoned the blonde adventurer as soon as her mother had shown up and had fallen asleep resting against Emma's shoulder. Killian took their daughter up to put her in bed._

" _Well, we may not know much about what these people look like, but I think I can create a general profile," Rogers offered, looking at Emma. She nodded._

" _That'd be great, thanks."_

 _Alice had spoken up then, "Um, sorry, but, I was wondering when we could go home? You have a lovely house, Sheriff, but after everything that's happened today, I'd like to sleep in my own bed."_

" _I second that." Robin spoke from her seat on the sofa beside the blonde, who was wedged between the archer and her father. She had cuddled up under Robin's arm, a hand firmly on her father's arm. They were her touchstones and she was theirs._

 _Emma and Regina exchanged a knowing smile. "We thought you'd say that," the Queen said._

" _So, we took some time and wove some wards around your apartment. You should be safe to go home as soon as you are ready." Emma finished._

 _More relief washed through Robin. Home. They were going to go home._

 _Before they could go, though, Emma and Rogers and Regina worked out a scheduled to have someone guarding the outside of the apartment at all times. "Wards and shields are all well and good, but those people can dampen magic and inhibit it. A physical guard adds another layer of protection."_

" _Those people will never get their hands on you again," Rogers told his daughter just as fierce as Alice had been about the destruction of the tower replica._

 _Instead of arguing, Alice just bowed her head. "Thank you, Papa. And everyone. I'm sorry to be such a bother."_

" _Alice," Regina said, smiling at the blonde, "you're family. We protect our family."_

 _Alice stared at the kindness in the Queens eyes and her lower lip quivered. She looked down at her hands, now folded in her lap, and frowned. "Where's my ring?"_

" _Oh!" Robin had nearly forgotten. She reached into the right-side pocket of the borrowed sweatpants and pulled out the engagement ring. She'd cleaned it and shined it earlier, so it glinted in the light when she held it up. "We were so busy, I almost forgot."_

 _Alice let out a trembling sigh and held out her hand, so the archer could slide the ring into its rightful place. As she did, there was a little_ pop _, and the blonde gave a full-body shudder. Then she looked around at them all, eyes wide. "I think I know how they did it."_

As if she could feel Robin's regard, Alice's eyes blinked open and she smiled. "Good morning, love."

"Morning." Robin replied, tightening her hold briefly and nuzzling Alice's cheek with her nose. "How'd you sleep?"

"Wonderfully. I'm so glad to be _home_." Alice turned her head so she could catch Robin's lips in her own with a contented sigh. Robin purred just a little as they moved together in the kiss and the warm skin on hers grew even warmer. When it was obvious that Alice planned to take this farther than just a good morning kiss, Robin pulled back.

"Are you sure?"

"More now than ever," Alice answered, seriously, breathless. " _This_ is my life, with _you_ , and I intend to make every day _count_."

Robin grinned. "In that case…" She rolled onto her back and pulled Alice atop her, the familiar heat and weight of the woman she loved more than anything, safe and sound and in her arms, drove her absolutely crazy in the best way. "Let's celebrate!"

"Gods, yes!"

It was a little after noon when they made it out of bed and that didn't bother either of them in the least. It was Sunday, which was normally a pretty lazy day for them both. Sometimes, Robin would just find a book and read, while Alice played solitaire at their little table. If they went out, it was usually just to get something to eat from Granny's. One Sunday, they'd watched Netflix for an entire day, in their pajamas. Sometimes, it was great to be an adult.

Once they were up, showered (separately, for water conservation, Alice said), and dressed in casual clothes, food was required. Robin decided that breakfast would be lunch and started making grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato bisque (from a can) with red pepper flakes for extra flavour.

Alice told her, "Make mine extra gooey, please, love. I'm feeling extra cheesy, today." The statement and the follow up kiss on the cheek had Robin grinning like a fool as she added more cheese to Alice's sandwich. It felt like any other Sunday afternoon, and she was grateful.

Rogers showed up just as the soup was heated and the second sandwich was in the pan. They invited him to join them for lunch. He acceded but told them to sit down and enjoy their food and he'd make his own grilled cheese. They agreed, sat at the kitchen table, and ate while he cooked and told them about the investigation so far.

"It's been less than a day, so I'm afraid we still don't have much to go on." He said. "Emma is really angry, though, so she's determined to get to the bottom of it."

Alice and Robin exchanged a look and Robin nodded at her fiancée. The blonde took a deep breath and said, "Papa, until you _do_ find whoever it is, could you not tell us? I'd just like to forget that it happened. I mean, I'm here and I'm okay. They erased anything that could have really been useful." She pleaded with her father, eyes huge. "Please, Papa. I just want to focus on my life and getting married in a month."

Rogers studied his daughter. "If you're sure that's what you want, love, I'll make sure not to mention anything more. If," he put up a finger when she grinned at him, "you let us keep a guard on you - both of you, at all times. I know it might be annoying, but I know that Regina and Zelena would both feel better if you were guarded. Don't worry, Robin, they'll be discrete." He said to the archer's irritated look.

Alice reached across the table and laid her hand on her fiancée's. "I don't think it's too much to ask, do you?"

The archer sighed. When Alice had first told her earlier that she wasn't sure she wanted to know how the investigation was going, because it was just one more thing to worry about, Robin hadn't been entirely sure it was the best idea. However, when Alice explained that all she really wanted to do was get back to normal, to planning their wedding, Robin had caved. She admitted to Alice that she was surprised being in that tower hadn't been worse for her.

" _Well, it wasn't for very long, and I was mostly out of it. Yeah, it was scary, but it was mostly like a bad dream, and luckily, I don't remember any of the rest of it." The blonde shrugged one shoulder. "Even when I believe what they said, I didn't really believe it. That place doesn't have the same power over me that it used to."_

The archer turned her hand over and laced their fingers together, a signal to Rogers that she was in agreement.

Some tension seemed to drain out of him. "I'll tell them as soon as I go on shift."

They'd spent the next little while just talking about anything under the sun, eating, and enjoying their time together. Alice hugged her father goodbye and saw him out the door, and then she joined Robin on the sofa and they started reading a new book together. Dinner was cereal and milk while watching an old favourite movie.

When they got into bed that night, Alice said, "Thank you for being on my side - _again_ \- even though I know you want answers."

Robin grinned at her. "I do want them, but I can be patient. You're right. You're here, you're safe, and we still have a wedding to plan. I love you. I'll always be on your side."

 _ **Author's Note**_ : I hope nobody thinks this is simplistic. I know the 'wiped memory' is sort of overdone, but it seemed to me that whoever these people are, they would be as thorough as they could be. At any rate, hope everyone likes this and I promise a return to wedding fun next chapter. Cheers!


	9. Chapter 9

_**Disclaimer**_ : I do not own Once Upon a Time or any of the characters. I'm new to this particular fandom – CuriousArcher, MadArcher, whatever you want to call it. I mean, how hard was it to not love Robin and Alice? They're totally adorable! Thanks, OUaT! Any and all mistakes are mine.

 **The Dress**

"That's it. All you have to do now is figure out what you're going to wear." Zelena closed the wedding binder and smiled at the two women. "Everything else is set."

Alice and Robin exchanged grins. "Really? That's it?" Alice asked.

"It is. You two made this so easy. In three weeks', time, you'll be on a beach in front of Regina and your guests, getting married. Oh!" Robin handed her mother a tissue and the redhead dabbed at her eyes. "I'm sorry, dears, these pregnancy hormones have me crying over every little thing. I'm just so happy for you." The last sentence ended in a sob.

Startled, Robin hugged her mother and let her cry into her shoulder while Alice looked on with quiet amusement and patted Zelena's shoulder. When the witch finally got control, she pulled back, sniffling, and looking embarrassed.

"It's okay, Mom." Robin told her, handing her the box of tissues. "I know you didn't really get this far with me."

That was the truth. By this time in Zelena's first pregnancy, she'd eaten bespelled onion rings and given birth in a day. Robin had been taken away by her Aunt and her father, to protect her from Zelena. That was before everything had happened with Hades and before Zelena and Regina had realised just how much they needed each other. Zelena had proven that she loved her daughter more than herself in that time. Robin sometimes wondered if her life would have been much different if she'd grown up with Regina and her father, instead of her mother alone. She wasn't sure she liked the idea, as much as she'd liked to have known her father.

"Oh! Darling, you're so sweet. Thank you."

"How is Chad taking things?" Robin asked, curious about her step-father. This was his first kid, after all. She knew she didn't spend a lot of time with her mother's husband, but he didn't seem to mind. After all, she was a grown woman, preparing to start her own married life.

"He's an absolute dear!" Zelena gushed, a smile returning to her face. "He dotes on me. He even put together a crib and has started to paint the nursery."

"My old room?" Robin asked. She wasn't upset. The farmhouse wasn't huge, and it only had about two and a half bedrooms.

Zelena shook her head. "Never. That room is _yours_ , Robin. For whenever you come visit. Both of you. After the wedding, we really should sit down for dinner as a family."

Robin gave her mom a smile. "Sure, Mom, we'd like that. Wouldn't we?" She directed her question to Alice.

"Of course, we would." The blonde confirmed, reaching out and giving her future mother-in-law's shoulder a squeeze.

"Wonderful! Now… Have you figured out where you're going tomorrow to find your dresses?"

Robin sighed. "Rogers, Aunt Regina, Henry, and Snow are going with me to one shop in Boston tomorrow and Emma, David, Ella, and Lucy are going with Alice. Since we already picked out the bridesmaid and Maid of Honour dresses, and the tuxes for the Best Men, all that's left is to do is the fittings." She told her mother. She wasn't happy about it. She and Alice had only just agreed on Boston two days before when the one and only dress shop in Storybrooke had failed to meet their bridal needs. They could have chosen to go to any other place in the U. R. but had decided that Boston would be a better option, since part of the U. R. still didn't allow motorised vehicles within their borders. Robin wished they had enough time to go to Seattle or San Francisco. She could only hope that Boston would have what they were both looking for.

"That's perfect. Alice, would you mind if I tagged along with your party, tomorrow?" Zelena asked.

Surprised, Alice glanced at Robin before she asked, "Wouldn't you rather go with Robin? She's your daughter."

"Oh, Alice. You are as much my daughter as Robin is. I couldn't be happier that you are officially joining the family, but you've been part of it for years. I know you haven't had much in the way of a maternal figure and I thought you might like one for this occasion?"

It was Alice's turn to tear up. "You really feel that way?"

"Of course, I do, dear. I know I teased Robin about young love, but I've known since the beginning that the two of you were meant to be. Especially after the curse and all." Zelena gave Alice her own sunny smile. "So, what do you say?"

Alice nearly leaped into the hug that awaited her. "Yes, of course you're welcome to come. I'd love to have you there."

"Good. When are we leaving?"

Later that night, as she and Robin lay in bed together, coming down from the high that came along with multiple climaxes at the hands (and mouth) of her fiancée, Alice felt she had to ask, "Are you alright with your mother coming with me tomorrow? I'm sure I could convince her to go with you, if you want."

Robin's arms around her tightened for a moment and she nuzzled her face into Alice's neck to place a soft kiss near her ear. When she was done, she said, "I think it's great. I mean, she called you her daughter, Alice. All I've ever wanted in my life was for my mom to really accept me for who I am. By calling you her daughter, it means that she not only accepts me, but you, too. I love that she wants to be there for you."

"Don't you want her to be there for you?"

Robin was silent for a moment before she said, "I have Aunt Regina. We've always been close, and we are a lot alike. I love my mom, I really do, but she deserves to be with someone who won't fight her over every little thing."

"You'd do that?" Alice asked, aghast.

"Probably." Robin admitted with a shrug. "It's not on purpose, it's just that we rarely ever agree on things like my clothes. She wants me in a traditional dress and I know that Aunt Regina is just more open-minded." She shrugged and dropped a light kiss on Alice's lips. "You actually _like_ dresses."

Alice giggled. "I do. I just want to find something that, when you see me in it, you won't ever forget it."

Robin leered at her. "Like that thing you wore for my last birthday - when we were in Amsterdam?" Too bad it hadn't lasted past that night, the archer mused silently.

Alice blushed a deep red. "Yeah, like that, but, obviously, not like that." She met Robin's eyes. "I want the memories of our wedding to last the rest of our lives."

Leaning in, Robin brushed her lips across Alice's cheek. "They will. No matter what you wear." She had no doubt that getting married to the beautiful, blushing blonde in her arms would be a memory that would never fade.  
 **************

 **************  
Alice sighed and flopped down on the bench about a block from the dress shop and put her face in her hands. Around her, traffic flowed in a never-ending river and people went about their daily lives. Boston made her homesick for Hyperion Heights, though she'd never have believed that could happen. She loved Storybrooke and was happy that Robin had agreed to make their home there, but the part of her that still held some of Tilly's memories and feelings wished she could visit her friend, the Troll, and tell him of her dress woes.

They had been at the bridal store for nearly three hours and in that time, she'd tried and failed to find a dress that suited her. She was tired, hungry, frustrated, and she knew that storming out of the shop had been an awful idea. It made her look like some sort of ungrateful, hateful monster, and she was now terribly embarrassed and not sure how she was going to be able to go back in there and face her friends.

Especially Zelena.

What must Robin's mother think of her, now? Would she call Robin and tell her what had happened? Would Robin be ashamed of how she acted? The thought brought frustrated tears to her eyes.

Her phone began to buzz in her pants pocket. She almost ignored it but decided it would be better to face the music of whoever was calling. Taking it out, she didn't even look at the caller ID, simply answered with, "Yes?"

" _Alice?_ " It was Robin. " _Sweetheart are you okay?_ "

Wiping at her eyes, Alice sat up straight on her bench. "I'm fine. Why wouldn't I be?" She tried to sound casual.

" _Dunno_." Robin replied, " _I just… I just got the feeling I should call you and see if you were okay_."

That was enough to make Alice slump forward again. "Oh. In that case, no, I'm not alright."

Immediately, Robin was all soft tones and Alice wished like hell her fiancée was there with her. " _Want to tell me about it?_ "

"No. Yes. I don't know." Alice replied, sounding whiny, even to herself. Robin chuckled. "What's so funny?"

" _Nothing, really. I'm not having the best time, either. I can't find anything that I like, and this place doesn't have anything 'non-traditional'. Aunt Regina and Snow are trying to see if there's somewhere else we can go that might suit me better, but this place isn't keen on giving us the names of their competitors and the owner keeps insisting that we can find something to suit me_." Robin told her, sounding as frustrated as Alice was. " _I am so glad that I only have to do this once in my life_."

It was Alice's turn to laugh, albeit with little humour. "Yes, that's precisely how I feel, too. I can't seem to find _anything_ I like - no matter how many times they tell me how beautiful I look. It just doesn't _feel_ right. I… I may have gotten angry and left the store." She admitted.

Now Robin did let out a small guffaw. " _Really? And here I was thinking I was going to get a lecture from you about controlling my anger in public. Where are you?_ "

Alice looked around and found a sign. "I'm in 'Central Square.'" She looked around and then raised her nose in the air. "It smells like pizza." Her stomach rumbled. "I'm hungry."

Robin _tsk_ ed in sympathy. " _Me, too. Pizza sounds freakin' awesome right about now._ "

"We should have brought snacks." Alice agreed, giggling. She felt better now, talking to Robin, knowing that they were both going through the same thing.

" _Well, now we know better. I miss you_."

Alice smiled for the first time in what felt like days. "I miss you, too, love. I can't wait for this day to be over. And to think, I was _excited_ about it. Shows what I know, doesn't it?"

" _Alice, what do we do if we don't find what we're looking for today? Does that mean we have to do this again? 'Cause I'm not sure I'll survive another day in Boston with Henry and your father_."

"What's wrong with Papa?"

" _He and Henry have already tried on their tuxes, preened in front of the mirror, and then proceeded to sit together making_ male _comments about nearly every dress they've presented, and I've turned down. You'd think they were 12 years old!_ " Robin complained.

Alice couldn't help but to giggle at the mental image she was getting. "At least they haven't started duelling in the store." She said, helpfully.

Robin groaned, but Alice could tell she was smiling. " _Thank god they can't hear you! I don't need either of them getting_ ideas."

Just then, Alice heard her name being called. She looked up and around her and spotted Zelena striding purposefully down the sidewalk towards her. She sighed. Talking to Robin had made her feel better, but she wasn't sure she was ready to face her fiancée's mother after her outburst.

" _What's wrong?_ "

"Your mother is coming."

" _Ah. Do you want me to stay on the phone? I can handle her if she gets too uppity with you_." Robin suggested, only half-joking.

Love for her archer filled Alice with warmth. She giggled. "No, love, thank you, though. I have to face my own music."

" _Okay, sweetheart. I love you, Tower Girl, no matter what._ "

"I love you, too, Nobin. I'll see you soon. Bye." Alice smiled as she ended her call. Hearing Robin say that she loved her always made her feel pretty invincible.

A minute later, Zelena sat down on the bench beside her. Alice looked up at her soon to be mother-in-law, then quickly away. Zelena let out a little huffing laugh. "Here you are, Alice. I'm glad you didn't go far."

Alice didn't respond. She'd put her phone away and was nervously ringing her hands. Zelena didn't sound angry or exasperated in any way, so the young woman found herself on unsteady ground. It occurred to her that she didn't really know Zelena all that well, even though she was Robin's mother. In fact, this was the first time she'd really spent any 'quality time' with her. _Wow, Alice, way to make a great impression_ , the former adventurer berated herself.

She was then unprepared when Zelena placed a gentle hand between her shoulders, rubbing in light calming circles on her back, and asked softly, "Darling, are you alright? Is there anything I can do?"

Shocked, Alice looked up into Zelena's face. Her pretty, light blue eyes stood out from her pale skin and hair a little like flames when the sun hit it just right. She was frowning, but not in anger. "What?"

"I know today has been… tiresome. And it can be rather stressful. I just wanted to make sure that you're okay."

Alice let out a sigh. "I'm sorry I made such a fuss. It's just, when I was online looking for shops here in Boston, this one seemed so promising. Now, we've been at this for _hours_ and _nothing_ seems good enough. And I don't want to say it out loud and hurt their feelings, because they've been so nice and they're trying so hard." She stopped talking when she realised what she'd said. "I thought this would be easy."

Zelena let out a chuckle that sounded a lot like her daughter. She stopped the back rub and gave Alice's shoulder a soft squeeze. "Oh dear. Finding the dress that you want to get married in is never easy, Alice. Even if you get lucky and it's one of the first few you're shown, you might put it aside to look at something else and forget all about it until the end."

Alice made a face and shook her head. "That's not it. I haven't seen a single dress in there that I _like_ , let alone love enough to marry Robin in. They're all pretty, but they just don't feel _right_."

Zelena looked thoughtfully at her daughter's fiancée. "Robin would marry you if you came to the ceremony in a plastic bag or a gunny sack, my dear." She said, her voice teasing. Then she continued in a more serious tone, "Alice, maybe we've been going about this all wrong. We keep finding dresses that _we_ think you'll like, but not one of us has asked you what _you_ are looking for. So why don't you tell me what kind of gown you might want and maybe we can see if there's another shop in town that carries it?"

Surprised again, Alice just stared at Zelena for a moment before a smile hesitantly tugged the corners of her mouth up. "I… Alright, I think I can do that." She said, nodding slowly and trying to picture just what kind of dress she thought would be good enough to marry Robin in.

"I want something simple and elegant, pretty. It doesn't have to be expensive or have bows or ruffles or a long train. I just want to look as beautiful as… Well, as beautiful as you did in your dress." Alice told her. She smiled at the memory of seeing Zelena exchange vows with Chad in a white gown that shimmered in the sunlight.

"You really liked my dress?" Zelena asked, sounding touched.

"Oh yes! You looked so happy - and the dress made you look like a princess. I want something like that. Just like that." Alice realised suddenly why none of the gowns she'd tried on had felt right. She wanted something just like Zelena had worn. Maybe not exactly the same, but similar. Robin wasn't a knight in shining armour or anything, but she'd been Alice's personal hero since the night she'd stood up to a mob bent on attacking her for speaking up for a friend. They had escaped together, and it was Robin's belief in Alice and her magic that had been the impetus of their friendship. That friendship had been the best thing to ever happen to her.

Zelena put her finger to her lips in thought. After a few moments she said, "Alice, there is a custom in this realm - sometimes, at any rate - where a mother will pass down her wedding dress to her daughter. I say sometimes because it only works if they parent and child have the same tastes, and provided the dress isn't decades out of style. What I mean is, Alice, would you like to have my dress to get married in?"

Alice stared at Zelena, her jaw hanging open for several seconds before she could manage to form any kind of words. "R-Really? A-Are you sure?"

Zelena's face lit up again. "Of course, I am! Alice, I would be absolutely delighted for you to have it!"

After a short pause where Alice had to convince herself she wasn't dreaming, she said a little shyly, "Then yes, please. I'd love it." She was pleasantly surprised when Zelena threw her arms around Alice in a huge hug. It wasn't that she hadn't given Robin's mother hugs before, because she had, but this was the first time it felt like she was being embraced by a _mother_. Alice thought her heart might burst with how happy it made her.

When they pulled apart, she wasn't shocked to see some tears in Zelena's eyes. She was grinning as she dashed at them with the back of her hand. When she had collected herself enough to speak again, she said, "I'm so glad! I can't wait to see you in it. I fully expect you to want to alter the gown to better fit you, so I think we can make an appointment at the shop in Storybrooke. Don't worry, darling, despite their lack of a variety of gowns, they do excellent personal tailoring. Faeries are like that when they find something they like doing."

"Faeries? I had no idea when Robin and I went in there."

"Well, they don't like to call attention to themselves. They broke off from Blue and her cadre years ago because they felt that they could do something more than grind the crystals the dwarves mine into faery dust. After they heard the story of the Black Faery - her name was Fiona - they realised that it is possible to live a different life and survive, so they did. Nova was the first - she's been in love with that grumpy old dwarf, Leroy, now for years, you know. She started the dress shop and then more came to join her." Zelena told Alice the story as though it were old news.

Alice just shook her head. "I have lived in Storybrooke for nearly an entire year and I barely know anything about it. Rumple would be so disappointed."

That made Zelena laugh out loud. "Well, you have been a little bit preoccupied living your life and being happy. Isn't that what he wanted for you? I think he'd be glad to know that you are doing well."

"You never saw him as a monster, did you?" Alice wondered.

Zelena shrugged a shoulder. "Not like the others did. I knew what the Dark One was and I was never afraid of him. I wanted him to like me. I wanted him to be my teacher, but he decided that _Regina_ was a better student. I'm not sure if you know this, Regina and I have not always been as you see us now. There was a time when I wanted nothing more than to hurt her the way I'd been hurt by my adoptive father my whole life, until the day I ran away from home."

Alice nodded. "I only know a little bit. I don't like to pry." That wasn't true - the blonde had an almost too curious mind, sometimes. It had certainly gotten her into a lot of scrapes - and gotten her out of others. Robin had once told her that she loved the way Alice thought about the world because she helped her to see it differently, too.

"Well, someday soon, I'd like to sit you down and tell you. Robin doesn't like to talk about some of the things I've done, but I think that if you want to be part of this family, you should have the whole story from the horse's mouth. If that's okay."

Was this Zelena's way of asking to spend time together, maybe even bond? That thrilled Alice to her core. "I'd like that, too. I could… Maybe I could tell you about my life, too?"

"Sounds like a plan." Her almost-mother agreed. She gave Alice's shoulder another quick squeeze and then clapped her hands and rubbed them together. "Now, I don't know about you, but we are _starving,_ and that pizza smells heavenly, don't you think?"

"What about the others?" Alice wondered of Emma, David, Ella, and Lucy.

Zelena simply grinned with a slightly wicked glint in her eyes.  
 **************

 ************  
** On the way back to Storybrooke, a little shuffling was done so that people who had been separated on the way to Boston could be settled together. Regina, Zelena, Lucy, David, and Snow rode in one car, with Regina as the driver. Emma drove the second car and shared with Rogers, Henry, Ella, Alice, and Robin. Since they were all meeting at Granny's when they got into town, it didn't a big deal to separate Lucy from her parents. In fact, it was sort of nice and quiet after the sounds of the city all day. Robin was really looking forward to having a quiet Sunday at home with Alice.

They were seated in the very back of the minivan that had been rented to get everyone to and from Boston together, instead of everyone taking their own cars. Henry and Ella were in the middle seat, heads together, talking quietly. Emma and Rogers had similarly muted tones that didn't carry past the front of the van. In a way, it felt like they were in their own little world. When Alice pulled a blanket out from under the seat, scooted over in her seat until she was leaning comfortably against her fiancée's side. She spread the blanket over them both and sighed happily.

"So, you really found a dress?" Robin wondered, curiously. When they'd all met up for dinner that night, Alice had practically bounced over to her, grinning from ear to ear. She'd given Robin a rather sound kiss before telling her that she'd found exactly the right gown but refused to give away anything else. She told Robin that she would just have to wait for the 'big reveal'. Robin had told _Alice_ that she had been watching too many house flipping shows.

"Mmm-hmm. It's perfect." Well, it would be, at any rate.

"I'm glad. Did Mom behave herself?"

Alice looked affronted on Zelena's behalf. "Your mother is _wonderful_ , Robin. She was very kind and understanding. I think we might've become friends."

Robin rolled her eyes. "Oh no. Now you'll gang up on me! My life is _over_!" Robin grinned and laughed as she put the back of her hand on her forehead like an over acting damsel in distress. "Whatever will I do now?" The last part was said in an atrocious Southern twang that made them both start giggling.

"Honestly, though, I'm glad you and Mom got to spend some time together." Robin confessed. Alice leaned her head against her shoulder, so the archer shifted until they were both comfortable. "Want to tell me about your dress?"

"You tell me about yours." Alice requested, yawning and closing her eyes.

Chuckling, Robin took a breath and said, "It's black. So black it makes your eyes cross."

Alice let out a chuff of a laugh. "Tell me more, Nobin."

Robin chuckled and kissed Alice's hair before leaning her cheek on it. "'Kay. It's only the skirt that's black - and the jacket, of course. My shirt is lime green with blue spots and the tie that goes with it is orange and silver. Aunt Regina said she can get me some matching suspenders. There's a cape that comes with it, with a train that's like, a mile long. I'll wear my lucky boots with it and the people will never know what hit them."

Alice let out a half breath. "So long as it isn't red," she murmured sleepily. Today had been pretty draining for them both. Robin closed her eyes. She was asleep before she knew what hit her.

 _ **Author's Note**_ : I may have really liked the dress that we all saw when Regina went to get Kelly. I thought it was gorgeous and I was sad we didn't get to see Zelena wear it. Anyway, I thought up this scene as a way for Alice and Zelena to bond a little bit. So, hope you enjoyed. Reviews feed my muse. Without them, she withers away… Cheers!


	10. Chapter 10

_**Disclaimer**_ : I do not own Once Upon a Time or any of the characters. I'm new to this particular fandom – CuriousArcher, MadArcher, whatever you want to call it. I mean, how hard was it to not love Robin and Alice? They're totally adorable! Thanks, OUaT! Any and all mistakes are mine.

 **Final Touches**

"Oh, Alice!" Zelena gushed, a hand failing to cover the huge smile on her face. "Darling, you look absolutely radiant!"

Alice stared at herself in the three-way mirror inside the dress shop. She could see Zelena and the two faeries behind her, all three of them were beaming back at her. Focussing on her own reflection, the blonde's expression slowly began to match theirs.

The dress that she wore - the one that Zelena had gotten married in a little more than a year ago - now fit her as though it had been made for her. The bodice of it clung to the top of her body, fitted to her like a corset. What had once been an intricate decoration of silver had been transformed into the shape of a raindrop made of opals. Each stone reflected a subtle green/blue/purple shimmer in the right light. The dress bodice and skirt were pure white with an intricate pattern embroidered in platinum thread, the opals added depth and soothed Alice's need for colour in her clothing.

Because they were getting married in the summer, the sleeves of the dress had been carefully removed, leaving her arms and shoulders bare. With a little bit of magic, though, the material had been changed into a sort of half-cape that flowed down her back to blend in with the rest of the skirt. They had lengthened the dress so that it trailed behind her in the back a little bit but left her feet and her ankles clear in the front. Nova, who Alice had first thought was just a mousy sort of woman who was eager to please, turned out to be a great seamstress and had a knack for finding the perfect shoes. White strappy sandals adorned her feet, showing off her freshly painted blue and green toenails.

As Alice looked at herself, she let out a sigh of relief. _This_ dress was perfect. Looking back over her shoulder at Zelena, she said, "Thank you so much, Zelena! I love it!"

"I'm glad, darling." She frowned then. "Something's missing, wouldn't you say, Nova?"

The Faerie tilted her head and contemplated the young woman standing before them. Then, she snapped her fingers. She waved the wand in her hand and Alice felt something come to rest on her head. She turned back to the mirrors and her eyes widened. Now adorning her head was a circlet woven of green stems and dressed in blooming flowers of light blue and purple. Astonished, she reached up to touch it, then hesitated, not wanting to damage it.

"It's alright, Alice," Nova told her, smiling.

So, the blond touched the pretty crown and wanted to cry. She looked like all the stories that she'd ever read about faery princesses. It reminded her of being back in the Forest with Robin, who loved to braid her hair and adorn it with wildflowers. Turning around, she said, "It's wonderful!"

Zelena pursed her lips in thought. "It is. But… Oh!" She raised a hand and there was a flash of green before Alice's vision was obscured by a piece of sheer white gauze. Looking in the mirror told her what she suspected - a veil now covered her face, attached to the ring of flowers. It wasn't a long veil, ending just below her chin, but it seemed to bring the whole outfit together.

Just then the front door of the shop opened, and detective Rogers entered. He had just started his guard shift. When he saw his daughter, he stopped, mouth forming an 'O'. He forgot how to breathe for a few moments.

"Starfish… Alice, love, you look spectacular!" He finally managed to say.

Under her veil, Alice blushed. "Thank you, Papa!" She said, giggling. Turning back to admire herself in the mirror, she let out a sigh of contentment. "Perfect."

Of course, it didn't end there. Nova used her wand to make more adjustments to the bodice so that it showed off a little more of Alice's natural 'assets'. The shoulder straps were narrowed some as well, and the back of the dress was changed from actual stays, to an easy to use zip. A simple spiralling arm cuff was added, and then dismissed. Alice had naturally toned arms and shoulders, and neither Zelena nor Nova could come up with just the right accessory to compliment them.

There was also the question of Alice's hair and make-up. Hair was easy. Since she'd lived in Storybrooke, Alice regularly made sure her hair was cut so she could do whatever she wanted, as long as it was out of her face. Zelena used strands of Alice's own blonde curls to pull it up and out of her eyes. It was simple, and it suited the young woman. Her make-up would be understated - accenting her natural beauty without using too much.

When everything was done, Alice stared into the mirrors again and could hardly believe her eyes. Robin had always said she was beautiful, and Alice had never doubted that her fiancée really believed that, however, she'd never seen anything extraordinary when she looked in a mirror. Now…

"Robin isn't going to know what hit her," Papa commented to Zelena, who was nodding and dabbing at her eyes.

In a sudden puff of purple smoke, Regina was suddenly there. She looked tired and stressed, but she smiled. "I'm so sorry I'm late! What have I missed?"

Zelena raised her chin and used it to indicate where her sister should look. When the Queen caught sight of Alice, her smile turned into a grin. "Well, I'll be damned. I didn't think anyone could look as good as you did in that dress, Sis, but Alice, you look wonderful."

Alice blushed again at her compliment. "Thank you, Regina." She replied, resisting the urge to curtsy in the presence of the Queen.

Zelena walked over to her sister and put an arm across her shoulders. "Not bad, eh, Gina?"

"Not at all. May I add one thing?" This was addressed to Alice and the Faeries. The Faeries shrugged, and Alice nodded slowly.

In a puff of purple smoke something appeared in Regina's palm. She came closer to Alice and she could see that it was a pendent of some kind. On further inspection it turned out to be a heart-shaped necklace. At the very centre was a light blue stone that Alice didn't recognise, bordered by silver. It was simple and rather elegant.

"Regina, that's beautiful!" Alice breathed.

"It was the first gift that my… that Daniel ever gave me. I've kept it all these years, but I've never been able to bear wearing it. I'd like you to have it. You have made Robin so happy, Alice, and I can't think of a better person to give it to. Sometimes, you even remind me of Daniel, a little."

Alice's eyes filled with tears and she blinked them back. She didn't want to ruin her make-up. She couldn't speak. Of course, she knew who Daniel was. Robin had told her that particular story. Instead, she turned around and lifted her hair. The delicate silver chain lowered over her head and she heard the clasp click closed.

Lowering her hair and raising her eyes to the mirrors once more, Alice stared at herself. If she didn't know better, she would have said that the image couldn't have been her, but she knew it was. The heart pendent rested nicely, just below her throat, as if it belonged there. It felt right, and it looked even better. Now, she was ready to marry her True Love.  
 **************

 ************  
** Alice breezed through their front door looking as though she had just won the lottery _and_ a lifetime supply of candy. Robin was in the middle of their living room, having moved the furniture out of the way, to practice some of the Tai Chi forms that Chad had taught her. As she ran through them again and again, they helped her to be calm and focussed. That was a good thing, because in a week and a day, she and Alice would be getting married and even though everything was pretty much done, she was still feeling stressed out. Before the Tai Chi, she'd tried Yoga poses, but those hadn't helped all that much.

Upon hearing the door close, though, she stopped mid-form and waited to see her future wife walk into the room. She wasn't disappointed. The smile on Alice's face was one of purest joy. As soon as she saw Robin, it seemed to deepen. Her eyes crinkled at the edges and blue orbs sparkled.

"Hi." The archer greeted her fiancée. "Have a good time?"

Instead of answering, Alice simply wrapped her arms around Robin's neck and pulled her in for a long, slow, deeply satisfying kiss.

"I'll take that as a yes," the brunette quipped when she could breathe again. She pulled back and studied Alice. Her make-up was different. Less eye-shadow, more eye-liner. No lipstick because the blonde hated the stuff. There was some blush on her cheeks, but not a lot. The rest was Alice's own personal beauty. It was breath-taking.

"Hi." Alice replied, finally. "Yes. I had a wonderful time, thank you."

Robin leaned in and nuzzled her nose against the grinning woman's nose. "I'm glad. Is everything set with the dress?"

"Mmm-hmm. And no, I'm still not telling you what I'm wearing. It's perfect, though. You're going to love it." Alice leaned in and rested her cheek on Robin's shoulder. Her hold around the archer's neck loosened and she relaxed.

Robin stroked her hair with one hand, her other arm being occupied in holding Alice close to her. "As long as you like it, sweetheart, I'm sure I'll love it. I'm sure you are going to be beautiful."

She kissed Alice's hair and they stayed like that for several minutes. Finally, Alice pulled away and really looked at her fiancée and at the moved furniture. "What are you doing?"

Robin shrugged one shoulder. "I was restless. I went for a run and that didn't help. I tried Yoga, same results. So now I'm doing Tai Chi. It seems to be working."

"Oh! I love Tai Chi. Let me change and I'll join you."

Robin nodded. A few minutes later, both she and Alice were running through the forms again. They did that for about twenty more minutes, then Robin stopped.

"Okay, I'm good. Are you?"

"I'm great."

Alice helped Robin move the furniture back to where it had been, then they sat down on the sofa.

"How was your day?" Alice asked. Robin loved that about her. No matter what, she always asked the archer how her day had been.

"Hectic. I had to sub for the freshman English teacher, Ms. Thompson. It wasn't too hard, since today was the last day of school. Still, I think I'll stick to teaching gym and archery. At least when someone acts up, I can make them run laps." She shrugged. "I turned in all of my grades, did a walkthrough of the gym to make sure it's ready for the graduation ceremony on Sunday, and that was it. It doesn't seem like a lot, but it really was."

"Poor Robin. At least your fitting was done on Monday. And just think, by next week…" Alice's grin was back.

The archer found herself smiling, too. She was getting married. To Alice, her True Love. After next Saturday, she would be Robin Mills-Jones. It was _really_ happening.

"I can hardly wait," she said, truthfully. "I'm sorry we didn't do this sooner."

"I'm not." Alice said. "It happened when it did because it was the right time. I don't know what I would have done if we had gotten married _before_ the curse. To not know my own wife… Like Henry and Ella, in Hyperion Heights. I think that would have made it worse for me."

Robin thought about that. "You're probably right. As it was, Margot spent her whole time she was travelling looking for someone that she wasn't even sure existed. The night she met Tilly she was sort of feeling like a failure - coming back, tail between her legs. Seeing Tilly talking to that Troll and then rescuing her from the car, it was huge. When she saw Tilly again, that day outside the _Rollin' Bayou_ , she started to think that maybe fate might be involved."

"Fate? Well, I don't know about fate, love, but I do know that Tilly couldn't stop thinking about Margot for days." Alice told her fiancée. They smiled at one another.

"Definitely fate. Even a curse couldn't keep us apart. Just like Henry and Ella." Robin reached over and took Alice's hand in her own, playing with the rainbow bracelet she always wore. It had been the first gift that Robin had ever given her, and Alice had vowed to never take it off. "Are you going to wear this with your dress."

The blonde shrugged. "Yeah. I said I'd never take it off and I meant it. Besides, it came from you." Robin leaned in and kissed Alice's cheek in response.

They sat in comfortable silence for a few minutes before Robin asked, "Are you ready for tomorrow?"

Alice hesitated before she replied. "I… don't know. What if he doesn't like me?" _He_ was Gideon Gold, Rumplestiltskin's son. He was coming into town that evening and had planned to meet Alice the next day. She was looking forward to meeting him but was nervous.

"Alice, he's going to like you. What's not to like?" She picked up her fiancée's hands and held them. "You are smart and funny. You are brave and kind. And if Gideon doesn't like you, then he can go jump in a lake. Or maybe the ocean."

Alice giggled. "You're going to be there?"

"Of course. I'll be there and so will your father. We won't let you out of our sight."  
 **************

 **************  
Gideon Gold hadn't been back to Storybrooke since his mother and father had taken him travelling as a child. He'd lived with them, learned from them, and then gone on to Elphame Academy to study to his heart's content. He knew that, someday, he'd have to leave, - unless they asked him to be a teacher - however, for now, he was happy with his life.

It was strange for him to step into Storybrooke after decades of being away. He felt as though he should remember things that had no meaning to him. The town had changed, after all, due to the last 'curse' cast upon it, so perhaps he _shouldn't_ remember things? It wasn't until he'd come to an old building, dirty and seemingly abandoned, with a sign hanging above it that said, _Mr. Gold PAWNBROKER_ and underneath that, in smaller letters, _Antiquities Dealer_ , that he finally felt that he'd come home.

Using the key that his father had given him when he was old enough to travel realms on his own, Gideon unlocked the front door. It swung open easily, with no noise, not even a bell above the door. _Why did he remember a bell?_ Inside, everything had been covered in heavy canvas painter's cloths. It was dark, but for the light from the street, but that didn't bother Gideon - he had done a spell years ago that had granted him perfect night vision. It was a little dusty, but not at all unclean, which surprised Gideon a little. He'd been told that when his mother and father had decided to close the shop and go travelling, Regina Mills, who was the Mayor at the time, had promised that his shop would still be there if or when he ever returned. It seemed that she had kept her promise.

Wandering from the front of the shop to the back - to the tiny apartment that his father had lived in for many years, Gideon felt overwhelmed at Regina's kindness. It appeared as though nothing had changed in all the years since 'Mr. Gold' had been the proprietor of this place. It made him feel a little bit closer to his father, something that he hadn't felt in years - not since the death of his mother.

Unsure of what he should do now that he was here, Gideon set his pack down on the little kitchen table and walked over to sit down on the small bed tucked into one corner of the room. Everything in this room had also been covered up, but he didn't care. He was honestly just tired, and he knew that the next day, he was going to meet the woman who had spent his father's last minutes with him. He wondered if he was going to like her as much in person as he did through the letters they had been exchanging. He hoped so.

Suddenly, there was a huge puff of purple smoke and when it cleared, a raven-haired woman of obviously regal bearing was standing in front of him, a frown on her expressive face. Her dark eyes were narrowed at him and she had hands on her hips. She was dressed a set of red satin pyjamas and looked as though she'd been unceremoniously roused from sleep. Was it really that late here? It was dark, certainly, but Gideon hadn't even glanced at the clock tower when he'd come to town, so he had no idea what time it was.

"Just what the hell do you -" She stopped in the middle of her sentence and her expression changed to one of relief. The annoyance was still there, but it had been banked by happier emotions. "Oh, Gideon, it's you."

"Hello, Regina. Or am I calling you Your Majesty?" He grinned up at her. She was such a petite woman to hold as much power as she did - both magically speaking as well as her own aura. He'd been learning about such things at the Academy and he could see and feel her power.

Her annoyance died completely, and a smile lit her face. "Hello to you, too. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to startle you. You set off the wards I put around this place to keep it safe from any would-be thieves or looters."

Gideon got to his feet and took two steps to embrace her. She was so tiny now! He could remember when she had seemed like a titan to him. Of course, he'd been a child then, but it still amazed him just how much taller he was than she.

When they parted, she said, "It's good to see you. You've gotten so _tall_. I'm so glad that you could come to Alice and Robin's wedding. Alice is certainly thrilled."

"Well, I was, I think, ten years old, the last time we saw one another?" Regina nodded. "I'm quite delighted to be here. From the letters we've been exchanging, she seems a fine young woman."

"That she is. You're meeting her tomorrow, aren't you?"

He nodded. "I admit that I'm nervous. What if… what if she doesn't like me? After all, she knew my father and was his friend, so what if she meets me and finds me… wanting?" He hadn't voiced this concern to anyone back at the Academy, not even Nikolai, whom he shared everything with.

Regina laughed. "You always were such a sweet boy. I'm sure that you and Alice will get along swimmingly. She's an… _interesting_ person."

"Interesting how?" He inquired, trying not to sound desperate for information.

Regina shook her head. "Now that would be unfair. When the two of you meet tomorrow, it will be on even footing." She reached up and patted his cheek reassuringly. It was such a motherly gesture that Gideon came forward and hugged her again. He missed both of his parents dearly and as far as he knew, Regina was their oldest friend - his father's friend, at any rate. She never failed to treat him like family, sending him care packages at the Academy and keeping him up to date about the goings on of the place he'd been born. She had even managed to warn him about the curse before going silent for several years.

When he released her, she yawned. Apologising, she looked around the dark little room. "The electricity is still on - you'll have to switch on the breaker - and so is the hot water, if you want to clean up and get some rest. I did what I could to keep this place just like they left it."

"Thank you," he told her, sincerely. "It's good to know that, if I ever need it, I have a place to come to, away from Elphame Academy."

Regina nodded. "Even though you haven't been here in years, this was your first home, and you are always welcome back." She yawned again and looked embarrassed.

"I'm sorry for disturbing you," it was his turn to apologise. "I've clearly gotten you out of bed. I'll be just fine here tonight, and tomorrow night, I'll have dinner with you as we planned."

She smiled wryly and gave a small chuckle. "I look forward to it." Standing on her toes, she kissed his cheek. Then, in the same puff of purple, she disappeared. He smiled. He'd just been welcomed back to town by the Queen. It made him feel better. So, he unpacked his things and then settled onto the bed - he ankles hanging comically over the end until he fixed it with his own magic – a legacy from his father. When he was finally lying down again, he smiled to himself and hoped that Alice and he would get along as well as Regina seemed to think they would.  
 **************

 **************  
 _Granny's Diner_ was the place in Storybrooke that nearly everyone went to. On any given Saturday, the restaurant would be bustling with people, enjoying a meal, lingering over a coffee, or just sitting and soaking up the ambiance. It was a family establishment where people knew that they would be safe bringing their children. It had also been designated as Neutral Ground.

When the U. R. was formed, Regina, Snow, and Emma had come up with the idea that there would be one place in each Realm that was a sort of 'safe zone'. Any meetings between parties that might turn hostile were hosted at such places. A spell had been laid into the foundation that made it impossible for dark magic to be cast, made physical violence impossible, and generally instilled a sense of peace for anyone who entered.

Alice and Robin stood at the entrance to the courtyard to _Granny's_ and Alice fidgeted. She was still nervous, despite everything. Robin took both of her hands and squeezed them reassuringly. "Your dad is already there. I'll be there, too. Our guards are hidden in plain sight. If Gideon or anyone else tries to hurt you, we'll all be there to stop them."

Alice nodded and bit her bottom lip. "I know. I'm not really worried about that."

Robin smiled at her and leaned in to kiss her forehead. "Sweetheart, he will love you."

Alice sighed once, then took a deep breath. "Okay, let's go."

The sense of peace that came when Alice entered the restaurant was noticeable, however, she'd been there enough times to appreciate just how much it helped calm her nerves. Stopping just inside the door, she scanned the dining room, looking for someone who didn't belong. It didn't take long.

He was sitting in the booth closest to the door. He didn't look at all like she'd pictured him. She'd been thinking he'd be shorter, somehow, his face less angular. His eyes, though, and his chin looked like Rumple's. When their eyes met, he smiled at her and Alice remembered the picture she'd seen of Rumple's wife. Gideon Gold's smile was much the same as his mother's - warm and inviting.

He stood up as she approached. He really was tall, towering over her in a way Rumple never had. He held out his hand to her and she took it. His grasp was firm, but his hand was soft and warm.

"Hello," he said, and it amused her how awkward he sounded in that single word. "You must be Alice."

"I am. It's nice to finally meet you, Gideon." She replied, taking back her hand.

He gestured to the booth. "Please, have a seat."

She did and only after she was seated did he sit down. He had good manners, at least.

"Alice, thank you for coming to talk with me, today," he said, after a moment or two of heavy silence. "I know you must be busy, planning your wedding and all."

"Actually," Alice smiled at him, "as of yesterday, we are good. My fiancée's mother has been a blessing for helping us."

He chuckled. "So, you like your future in-laws, then?"

"Very much. They've been extraordinarily kind and generous to both Robin and I." Alice told him. Speaking of Robin, the archer opened the front door and passed by their booth, sparing neither a glance. She was, Alice had to admit, very good at this. Still, knowing that she was now inside and taking a spot at the counter made Alice relax. From where she now sat, she could also see her father, sitting in the last booth, appearing to read a book.

He laughed. "I've heard some spectacular horror stories from my friends at the Academy about parents-in-law. I think you're lucky."

Alice, who had also heard stories, couldn't help her own grin. "Yes, we are. It does help to have families who believe in True Love."

"Ah." He sat forward and steepled his fingers. "Robin is your True Love? You're certain? _How_ do you know?" He sat back again and shook his head. "I'm sorry. That was rude. It's just that… When you come from people who were part of a True romance, it makes one wonder."

Alice studied him before she said, "Well, neither Robin and I are products of True Love. When I was a child, I was convinced that True Love only happened to princes and princesses - I certainly never expected it to happen to me." She thought about it some more. "If it weren't for your father, I wouldn't have gotten the chance to find out."

Gideon favoured her with another smile. "Will you tell me about it?"

Alice did, recounting how Rumplestiltskin had tricked her into proving herself to be the Guardian, but had, at the last moment, been unable to see her lose her freedom to the Dark One Dagger. "He told me that he wanted me to find love and grow old with someone. He didn't want me to suffer the same fate as he had." She finished.

Gideon's face hadn't left hers as she'd talked, drinking in her words as though they were something he never wanted to forget. When she was done, he said, "My mother. It broke his heart when she died. If it hadn't been for his search for a way to rid himself of that damn knife, I'm not sure what would have happened."

"I saw a picture of her, once," Alice told him, her voice soft. Without thinking, she reached across their table, to where his hands were folded in front of him and placed hers on top of them. "He smiled - really smiled - when he talked about her. She was beautiful."

He looked at her, his eyes shining with tears he was too manly to shed. "She was. Alice, will you tell me about my father? The way he was with you, I mean? Will you tell me how he died?" His hands opened and captured hers. "Please?"

"Of course, I will." She told him.

For a long time after that, she talked, only stopping when a waitress came and brought her a slice of chocolate cream pie. Gideon requested a piece as well, and she found that they shared a love for chocolate, no matter the form. After the pie was gone and Alice had run out of stories to tell him about her father, Gideon said, "Well, Regina was right."

"She usually is," Alice agreed, readily, "About what?"

"She told me that we would get along. Are you two close as well?"

"A little. She helped me to learn how to control my magic. Plus, she's Robin's aunt and they're close. She'll be performing our ceremony." Alice told him. She wished she had another piece of pie, but she'd learned the hard way what too much sugar could do to her.

He blinked in surprise at her. "Wait a moment. You say Regina is your fiancée's _aunt_?"

"Yes…"

"Oh, of course! Robin _Mills_. I thought the last name was merely a coincidence. Hold on," his brow furrowed in thought, "I thought Zelena had a _girl_?"

Alice blinked. It was her turn to be surprised. "She did. Robin."

He stared at her for a long moment, his dark eyes a mirror of his father's before the Dark One's madness overtook him. Then, he let out a small chuckle. "Robin. Named after her father. Of course. As Nikolai would say, I can be incredibly _thick_ sometimes. Robin Mills."

Alice nodded. "We met in another realm. My father - you'll know him as Hook, even though he doesn't wear it, anymore - was working with Regina and some rebels there. Robin and her mother helped sometimes, and Robin is just as good with a bow as her father. We had an adventure together and we became friends. After that… things just sort of happened. Before I knew it, we were in love."

Gideon shook his head slowly. "You're the daughter of the man who vowed vengeance on my father?"

Alice nodded, but then shook her head. "Yes. No. In our realm, my father gave up his vengeance to raise me. They were friends, at the end, partners. It's why Rumple gave up his heart the way he did, at least partly."

"It seems I have a lot to learn about you, Alice." Gideon said, at last, still smiling at her.

"I'll tell you," Alice said, sincerely, "whatever you want to know. I was hoping we could be friends."

"At the very least," he agreed, amiably.

Suddenly, Alice got an idea. "Do you want to meet her? Robin, I mean?"

"I'd be delighted to."

Happily, the blonde grinned. Then, she put up her hand and made a V with her first two fingers. At the counter, Robin slipped from her stool and made her way over to their table. Her face was impassive, but not unfriendly. As she approached, Alice scooted over on the seat and reached out her hand, indicating that her fiancée should sit. The archer took the offered hand and sat in the place Alice had abandoned.

"Gideon, this is Robin Mills, my fiancée. Robin, I'd like you to meet Gideon Gold - Rumple's son."

Robin, who had been studying Gideon from her seat before, watching the way he laughed and smiled, and the way Alice reacted to him. She didn't believe that he was dangerous, so she held out her hand and shook his. "I'm pleased to meet you."

"Likewise."

"I was going to tell Gideon about how we met, but you always tell it better than me." Alice explained with a grin. Robin had to admire her fiancée's s people skills, sometimes. She smiled at Alice and squeezed her hand. So, Alice liked this man, this son of Rumplestiltskin, and she want Robin to get to know him as well. Okay, she could do that.

"Before you start," Gideon said, looking a little embarrassed, of all things. "There's something… I was wondering ...if I could… bring someone with me… to the wedding, I mean. I know the invitation was just for me… It's alright. If you don't have room, I understand. It's very last minute, but… see the thing is… I wasn't sure how I'd be received, and I remembered that my mother and father used to say that this realm was… less inclusive than some others." He sighed and dragged a hand over his face. "I'm sorry, I'm not usually this inarticulate."

Alice giggled. "Nikolai?" He blushed and nodded. Alice exchanged an amused and sympathetic glance with Robin.

"Sure. We don't mind." Robin told him. "We've had a couple of cancellations, so there's plenty of room. Besides, this isn't just Storybrooke, anymore. This is the United Realms, governed by the best queen of them all. It's a pretty inclusive place."

His answering grin was enough to make Robin think that Alice was probably right about him.

"Thank you." He said, sincerely. "He wanted to come, but I was afraid of how he'd be received. Thank you. Now," his tone changed to one of levity, "what was this about a story?"

 _ **Author's Note:**_ Sorry it's been so long between chapters this time around. My muse sort of fled and it's been hell getting it back. We just moved offices for work, so that's been sort of hectic on that front. Also had some personal hub-bub, which doesn't help matters. Forgive me? Cheers!


	11. Sorry!

Hey there!

Sorry to get your hopes up on a new chapter, but see, my RL sort of fell apart. I'm getting divorced in the near future and trying to figure out how to pay bills and all of that lovely stuff. I just want you all to know that I have not forgotten or abandoned the story, but until I can pick up the pieces of what remains of my life, my muse has taken a backseat.

I really hate having to do this, but sometimes, you just have to focus on your own sanity for a little while before getting back to the fun things in life. I do swear that I'll post something once the dust settles and I'm back on solid ground. Thank you to everyone who has favourited and followed me and who will still be there when I finally get back to it. You are all wonderful!

Cheers!

RandomGnome


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